The region has experienced a number of processing facility closures. Many economic factors — some of them international — contribute to these closures, although urban encroachment can also lead to closures. Trucking products to facilities outside of the region increases vehicle miles of travel, emissions, transport costs, and potentially reduces product quality and therefore price.

In some cases, the loss of a processing facility causes farmers to cease growing a particular crop altogether. For example, the closure of the peach processing facility in Yuba City reduced the acres of peaches in Sutter and Yuba counties. Such closures also eliminate direct and indirect processing jobs, as well as the economic multiplier effect associated with those jobs and the facility.