REAL ESTATE

The Irvine Co., completing an arrangement announced in March, this week turned over day-to-day management of its orchard farming operations on 5,090 acres to an outside company, Treasure Farms.

The company’s agricultural division will shed more than 60 of its 80 remaining employees in the transition, most of whom will be offered similar jobs at Treasure Farms. The company has gradually been turning over its farming operations to outsiders.

The move is part of the company’s switch to an executive developer strategy, under which it has shifted hundreds of employees to outside companies in businesses such as leasing and managing its apartments and office buildings.

The company farms avocados, Valencia oranges, Star Ruby grapefruit and lemons on the acreage.