The study also suggests the characteristics of the olives are not affected by reducing water volumes.

The study, Olive Crop Management for Optimal Sensory and Chemical Quality Project, was carried out over four years at a large property near Yarrawonga in Victoria.

The project’s chief investigator, NSW DPI scientist Dr Rodney Mailer, said the outcomes indicated that growers were applying more water than they needed to achieve a satisfactory crop.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• Victorian olive oil company makes splash (0)
• Viability of Timbercorp’s forests in doubt (0)
• UK: Olive groves could be new crop (0)
• Turning Waste Olive Stones Into Bioethanol (0)
• Turning olive pits into energy (1)

KordaMentha wants to end the schemes to make it easier to sell the 13 almond projects and 11 olive groves in northern Victoria.

Spokesman Michael Smith says a number of companies have expressed interest in buying the plantations and some companies are also interested in taking over the managed investment schemes.

But Mr Smith says anyone who takes over the schemes would have to accept all the associated costs and debts.

“Rent’s due from June 30, there are very large bills like electricity to run the irrigation and I’m talking maybe $100,000 a month,” he said.

“In almonds the trees have to be pollinated by bees in August and that alone is $4 million and Timbercorp simply doesn’t have the money.

“We’re running out of time, so whatever the solution is it has to come very quickly.”

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• [Turkey] Olive oil specialties at Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul (0)
• You’ll be hard ‘pressed’ to find a healthier food (0)
• WTO to investigate EU complaint against Mexico over olive oil duties (0)
• Would anyone like a slice of olive oil? (0)
• Winning olive oil at Horeca comes from long family tradition (0)

Harvest, which began in mid-April, is wrapping up after severe frosts last week.
Wagga Wagga, in NSW, is home to about 55,000 trees owned by investment companies and small growers.

The Riverina Olive Growers Association has 45 active members picking fruit from up to 30,000 trees.

Association secretary Vici Murdoch said unseasonal heat and rain had caused some “unbalanced” oils and that oil yields at 19 per cent were 1-2 per cent down on average.

Ms Murdoch said the Riverina harvest was targeted at the boutique market and would be unaffected by bulk quantities of oil flooding the market this year.

“Bulk prices are at $7-$8/litre but if that oil is bottled, then it’s worth $40-$60/litre,” she said.

Wagga Wagga growers and processors Neville and Chris Chapple machine-harvested fruit from 7500 trees this year, including three tonnes of table olives.

Two years ago the couple, of Wollundry Grove, bought a $500,000 processing plant and this year added $250,000 of harvesting machinery.

Able to process 500kg an hour, it’s the only olive oil processing plant in the eastern Riverina and one of three of its type in Australia.

The Topavi harvesting machine, imported from Italy, can also be used on almond, pistachio, walnut, apple and plum crops.

Mr Chapple said the harvester vibrated the top of the tree rather than the root system, causing fruit to drop into a large umbrella.

He said a tree was shaken for no more than 10 seconds.

“This machine will benefit small growers in this region due to the high cost of manual labour and the lack of casual pickers,” Mr Chapple said.

“But, the groves must be well managed and the trees be mature (over six years) with a clean trunk for the harvester.”

Mr and Mrs Chapple planted 2000 oil and table fruit trees of manzanillo, frantio, nevadillo, corrigiolo and leccino 11 years ago.

A November hail storm destroyed a third of this year’s crop.

“Fruit quality is the best ever but in terms of oil extracted, yields and tonnage are down,” Mr Chapple said.

“Prices are 10-20 per cent lower as the larger groves come into full production, but we expected that.”

To offset the hit at retail level, the couple plan to increase their presence at food and wine shows, online and in the local tourism market.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• Victorian olive oil company makes splash (0)
• Viability of Timbercorp’s forests in doubt (0)
• USDA approval for 1st U.S. Release of Authentic Olive Trees From Israel (0)
• TyTy Tree Nursery Now Shipping Olive Trees for Growing and Landscaping (0)
• Tunisia is the world’s second largest olive oil producer after the EU (0)

The funding, announced by Minister for Agriculture Tony Burke, is part of a $2 million wider initiative for 15 projects to help Australia’s food and seafood industries promote themselves to domestic and export markets.

The AOA will use the Australian Government grant to improve its capacity to promote the quality, freshness and health benefits of Australian extra virgin olive oil and table olives and engender a sense of loyalty for Australian olive products.

“The quality of Australian extra virgin olive oil is among the best in the world and we want people to know that,” AOA president Paul Miller said.

“We’re delighted to receive the funding which will go a long way to educating Australians about the quality and freshness of Australian extra virgin olive oil, as well as to ensure our country’s olive produce has a global presence.

The campaign will also focus on raising trade and consumer awareness of the AOA’s recently introduced Code of Practice.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• Victorian olive oil company makes splash (0)
• Viability of Timbercorp’s forests in doubt (0)
• Tradition lives on in olives (0)
• Timbercorp : High costs dampen almond, olive takeovers (0)
• the only olive harvester in the market that actually puts the olives in a bin (1)

Timbercorp was placed in administration in April, with liabilities estimated at the time of $930 million.

Mark Korda of administrator KordaMentha said on Thursday that full financial analysis of the forestry projects, which represented about 60 per cent of Timbercorp’s total business, was expected to be completed in the next week or two.

Mr Korda said the managed investment schemes (MIS) run by Timbercorp were so complex that the administrators were reluctant to draw conclusions about them until they had fully completed the analysis.

”With forestry, there’s probably $10 million required to run them just for the next three months,” Mr Korda said.
”But we haven’t done the full financial analysis of the forestry schemes.”

Mr Korda said investors in the Timbercorp’s forestry projects stood a better chance of getting something back than their counterparts in the horticulture projects.

”The trees in forests are an asset. They can be sold, and growers can get proceeds,” he said.

”That’s different from annual crops of things that, in many cases of horticulture, just don’t exist at the moment.”

Mr Korda said Timbercorp’s olives and almonds projects, which represent about 40 per cent of Timbercorp’s total business, were insolvent, leaving around 10,000 investors out of pocket.

”Timbercorp Securities Ltd (TSL), which is the responsible entity for most Timbercorp projects, is hopelessly insolvent,” he said.

”The full financial analysis on a project-by-project basis has been done so far only on olives and almonds … all of which are in Victoria.

”They are totally insolvent. They’re going to cost more to run than proceeds of the harvests in the next 12 months and beyond.”

Mr Korda said it would cost more than $300 million to operate the almond and olive projects for the next 12 months – $66 million for olives and about $255 million for almonds.

”TSL, the responsible entity, hasn’t got any money, hasn’t got any assets, hasn’t got any access to get more money, hasn’t got any infrastructure and hasn’t got any staff,” Mr Korda said.

”It certainly hasn’t got the capacity to keep almonds and olives operating.”

Mr Korda said that if the olives and almonds schemes were wound up, investors would lose all of their investment, apart from the proceeds of current crops.

The administrators have gone to the Supreme Court of Victoria seeking guidance from the court on whether it would be proper for the administrators to apply to wind up the olive and almond schemes.

Mr Korda said some growers wanted to exit the projects and others wanted the schemes to continue.

”We think that the court is the proper, most efficient and most independent forum to have that debate,” Mr Korda said.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• We Olive branches out (0)
• Victorian olive oil company makes splash (0)
• USDA approval for 1st U.S. Release of Authentic Olive Trees From Israel (0)
• Unilever to sell Turkish Olive Oil business (0)
• Unilever sells Bertolli olive oil to Grupo SOS for 630 million euros (0)

Dr Rodney Mailer, from the Australian Oils Research Laboratory, says the European International Olive Council’s standards are too restrictive and treat unique aspects of Australian oils as negative traits.

He says Australian producers shouldn’t be disadvantaged, because their olive oil is different to European oils.

“One of the sterols in olive oil, campesterol, is a little bit higher [in Australian oils],” he says.

“This doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with the oil.

“The varieties we have here just have a bit more than what the [current] standards say they should have.

“In fact, I think it’s a good thing, because it’s a nutritional benefit but we have some trouble trying to export to Europe because of these standards.”

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• [Turkey] Olive oil specialties at Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul (0)
• You’ll be hard ‘pressed’ to find a healthier food (0)
• WTO to investigate EU complaint against Mexico over olive oil duties (0)
• Would anyone like a slice of olive oil? (0)
• Winning olive oil at Horeca comes from long family tradition (0)

Managed investment schemes account for the majority of Australian olive production, and sparked the industry’s rapid growth over the past decade.

The Olive Association’s Paul Miller says the industry is now big enough to attract interest from other sources.

“We’re seeing enquiry from places like Indonesia,” he says.

“I’m hoping that our experience to date has started to put some runs on the board, and these people have now got some numbers and figures on which they can judge success and make some investment decisions.”

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• We Olive branches out (0)
• Victorian olive oil company makes splash (0)
• Viability of Timbercorp’s forests in doubt (0)
• USDA approval for 1st U.S. Release of Authentic Olive Trees From Israel (0)
• Unilever to sell Turkish Olive Oil business (0)

The Boundary Bend olive harvest was under way this week after a halt caused by Timbercorp’s financial woes.

After a three-day shutdown, workers at Timbercorp olive groves at Boort and Boundary Bend got back to the business of harvesting olives last week.

The harvest ground to a halt earlier in the week as Timbercorp administrator Mark Korda and grove managers Boundary Bend Management spent almost two days in the Federal Court in a bid to find a way to pay for it.

Boundary Bend executive chairman Rob McGavin said they struck a deal which ensured the rights of all parties were protected.

An initial proposal that the harvest be funded by the sales of oil from the crop was rejected in favour of a plan for Boundary Bend to buy the unharvested fruit for $15.5 million.

Boundary Bend will take the first $11 million from expected sales of $26.5 million of olive oil to cover its costs.

The balance will go to Timbercorp grower investors.

Mr McGavin said he was happy with the deal, even though it meant Boundary Bend assumed all the risk.

“You can say Boundary Bend is worse off but we’re not an olive company without olive oil,” he said.

“So this is just what we had to do to get it over the line.

“We have customers relying on the oil. This absolutely ensures that.”

Mr McGavin said the deal had to be done quickly to protect the fruit and prevent any effects on the next year’s crop.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• [Turkey] Olive oil specialties at Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul (0)
• You’ll be hard ‘pressed’ to find a healthier food (0)
• WTO to investigate EU complaint against Mexico over olive oil duties (0)
• Would anyone like a slice of olive oil? (0)
• Winning olive oil at Horeca comes from long family tradition (0)

The fate of this year’s crop – at two olive groves in northern Victoria – was uncertain after the company’s April 23 collapse.

The harvest must be completed in seven weeks and Timbercorp does not have the money.

After a day and a half in the Federal Court in a desperate bid to finance the harvest, administrator Mark Korda struck a deal to sell the 2009 olive crop to Boundary Bend – the company that harvests and processes the fruit.

“What Timbercorp and Boundary Bend have agreed and the court has said is non-controversial is that Timbercorp will sell the crop of olives to Boundary Bend for approximately $15.5 million with some rise and fall adjustments later on,” Mr Korda said.

The 6500ha crop will be sold to Boundary Bend for about $26 million, and the harvester will spend about $11 million processing and harvesting it.

Mr Korda said it was the same commercial outcome he had been trying to achieve through an application to the court for approval to use proceeds from the sale of olive oil from the 2008 crop to fund the 2009 harvest.

“Boundary Bend has been able to reorganise its finances on the basis it could buy the crop upfront so it’s funding the working capital,” he said.

“It’s a very practical solution.”

Boundary Bend executive chairman Rob McGavin said he was “absolutely delighted” by the outcome, particularly for the managed investment scheme growers.

“Boundary Bend has managed to come up with a solution which in effect seems to them a lot better off,” he said.

Harvesting of the crops – in Boort and at Boundary Bend near Robinvale – will start at 6am today.

On Tuesday, Mr Korda faced a packed meeting of hundreds of grower-investors, anxious about the future of their crops.

Timbercorp, which manages farm investment schemes of plantation eucalypts, olives, almonds, citrus, mangoes, bananas and tomatoes, went into voluntary administration owing $903 million.

The agreement came as the shares of Perth-based managed investment scheme promoter Great Southern were placed in a trading halt pending an announcement “in relation to its MIS sales program and working capital requirements”.

The trading halt came after Great Southern last week announced it would auction three cattle properties in northern Australia next month.

Great Southern last month said it needed to repay or renegotiate $105 million debt in October.

“My expectation is it’s probably something to do with the beef cattle properties and projects they’re looking to offload,” said one analyst, who declined to be named.

“These guys need to sell these beef cattle assets, otherwise they’re not going to survive.

“All I can speculate is there’s been negotiation to sell some assets.”

The company is due to release its first-half results this month.

Great Southern shares last traded at 12.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• [Turkey] Olive oil specialties at Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul (0)
• You’ll be hard ‘pressed’ to find a healthier food (0)
• WTO to investigate EU complaint against Mexico over olive oil duties (0)
• Would anyone like a slice of olive oil? (0)
• Winning olive oil at Horeca comes from long family tradition (0)

Producers are bottling the 2009 “vintage” and have said there are not enough presses to cope with supply from growers.

Rises in production are being attributed to the tendency for olive trees to fruit fully only every second year as well as better weather. Production last year was just 2000 tonnes.

York Olive Oil Company owner Arnaud Courtin said he had been inundated by small growers wanting distinctive oil made from trees in their backyards. “The smallest batch I’ve made is from 27kg from a tree in the backyard in Dalkeith,” he said. “More and more people are seeing they have an asset in their backyard or front verge.”

The WA Olive Oil Council estimated there were 400 olive oil producers in WA compared with about 10 in 1999. There are about 120 producers in Margaret River, where they have capitalised on the region’s reputation as a mecca for food and wine lovers.

[Source] Click here to continue

Link to Us

Related posts

• [Turkey] Olive oil specialties at Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul (0)
• You’ll be hard ‘pressed’ to find a healthier food (0)
• WTO to investigate EU complaint against Mexico over olive oil duties (0)
• Would anyone like a slice of olive oil? (0)
• Winning olive oil at Horeca comes from long family tradition (0)

The grove, at Boort in central Central Victoria, is one of the properties the company had trouble selling, before placing itself into voluntary administration.

Will Pattison, who works as a contract harvester at the grove, says it makes sense to harvest the fruit.

“There’s $20 million worth of oil on those trees,” he says.

“It costs approximately $2 million to take it off, so it makes sense, it’s in the best interest of everyone, to take the crop off.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government won’t say whether it will investigate the Timbercorp collapse.

The Nationals Member for Mallee, John Forrest, has called for an investigation of the company’s move into voluntary administration, as well as an overall look at managed investment schemes.

A spokesperson for the Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, Nick Sherry, says it’s important to let the administrators conduct their work, and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.

However, the Federal Government is expected to shortly release a report into non-forestry managed investment schemes.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• [Turkey] Olive oil specialties at Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul (0)
• You’ll be hard ‘pressed’ to find a healthier food (0)
• WTO to investigate EU complaint against Mexico over olive oil duties (0)
• Would anyone like a slice of olive oil? (0)
• Winning olive oil at Horeca comes from long family tradition (0)

Four executive members of Olives New Zealand, including the president, have resigned in the fallout from a meeting held to thrash out concerns surrounding the awards.

The body represents more than 270 members and oversees olive processing, marketing, science and research, harvesting and grower advice.

Head judge, and owner of Waiheke Olive Oil Company, Margaret Edwards, was accused by critics of a conflict of interest after she was on a panel of judges that awarded her own olive oil first prize at the 2008 Olives New Zealand Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards last October.

At the Greytown meeting last month Mrs Edwards admitted she had broken a rule that she had implemented four months before the awards which banned judges from assessing their own oil and said she would return the award.

After the meeting Mrs Edwards, who was vice-president of Olives New Zealand, along with three other members resigned. Those members were: President Jim Syme and executive members Colin Campbell and Andrew Taylor.

The meeting agreed a PR statement would be released to acknowledge the error and to outline changes made to rules and conditions to prevent it happening again.

Mr Taylor and Mr Campbell said they resigned because the release did not take on the form some members expected it to.

Mr Taylor said he did not trust the senior Olive New Zealand leadership.

“They didn’t follow through on the outcomes that we had agreed to.”

Mr Campbell said the draft release he offered suggestions on had changed significantly by the time it was released to members on Friday, March 20, without adequate consultation.

He understood the statement was to be released to members and media, but it was released to only members.

Mr Syme would provide no comment to The Marlborough Express, but in a statement to Olive New Zealand members he said he had been unsuccessful in gaining the confidence and support of the chairs of Auckland, Hawkes Bay and Marlborough olive oil committees.

Mrs Edwards said she had resigned from her role as vice-president after Mr Symes had resigned because she did not want to take on the role of president; however, she had since been co-opted back on to the executive.

“It’s not an area I’m skilled at so I resigned,” she said.

Awatere River Olive Oil co-owner Mark Heard said Mr Taylor and Mr Campbell had good grounds to resign, and Mr Syme’s resignation was a good thing for the industry. He had “defended the indefensible” and had not handled the media well, he said.

“I have got no confidence in the remaining executive and I still think a public apology is required from Margaret Edwards and Olive New Zealand over last year’s award controversy.”

Awatere River Olive Oil co-owner Phyllis Heard said the resignation of Mr Taylor and Mr Campbell from the executive was a big loss for the industry because they were two of the country’s major growers who understood the industry and how to market olives.

However, Mr Syme’s and Mrs Edwards’ resignation was good for the industry because they were boutique growers who lacked real horticultural experience, she said.

Mr Taylor said it was time for a clean out of the executive and a fresh start. “I’m hopeful that the greater membership will meet in an extraordinary meeting to be able to convene a new executive leadership structure.”

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• [Turkey] Olive oil specialties at Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul (0)
• You’ll be hard ‘pressed’ to find a healthier food (0)
• WTO to investigate EU complaint against Mexico over olive oil duties (0)
• Would anyone like a slice of olive oil? (0)
• Winning olive oil at Horeca comes from long family tradition (0)

ONE of the world’s biggest single-site olive groves opened the gates to visitors last week to celebrate being named Olive Grower of the Year.

Timbercorp’s 2777ha grove at Boort, managed by Boundary Bend Estate, was recognised by the Australian Olive Association for pioneering the production of quality olive oil on a large scale.

Development of Boort grove began in 2000 and Boundary Bend, which established its own groves in 1998, took over management in 2004.

Australian Olive Association president Paul Miller said the companies used modern technology and know-how when they began operations.

Everyone involved had to overcome many hurdles, Mr Miller said.

“They’ve improved pollination, addressed soil variability, run it very lean, yet they’re still producing fantastic quality oil and lots of it,” he said.

“Australia is leading the charge in terms of modern olive orchard culture. We’re constantly learning in this country because there’s no one else to teach us. These guys have been right at the front and so they’ve implemented a lot of improvements.”

Timbercorp horticulture general manager Darren Lipton told visitors and staff at the field day the award was confirmation of the company’s vision.

“Ten years ago people asked how anyone this size could commercially produce high quality extra virgin olive oil,” he said.

“I think we’ve proven a few of the pundits wrong (but) we’ve still got a long way to go. Now we need to lower costs and get yields higher.”

The grove accounts for 8 per cent of the area under olive oil production, but produces 38 per cent of Australia’s oil.

Oil produced at Boort competes against the world’s best at shows, and last year won two trophies and 39 medals.

As part of the open day, staff led guided tours through the grove of 997,000 trees and the on-site processing plant, which can crush more than 50,000 tonnes of olives a year.

A marquee offering information about testing allowed visitors to sample five varietals and six blends from the Cobram Estate label – which has a 30 per cent share of Australian supermarket sales – and there were displays by chemical, farm equipment and machinery suppliers.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• Victorian olive oil company makes splash (0)
• Viability of Timbercorp’s forests in doubt (0)
• USAID-Workshop for 40 Yemenis held to improve olive production, harvest (0)
• UCDAVIS: Olive-Growing Short Course Offers International Perspectives (1)
• UC Davis launches center to nurture emerging olive oil industry (2)

There’s an olive grove in Coominya, near Wivenhoe Dam, with 550,000 trees in it producing an Olive Leaf Extract that’s a global hot seller, in Australia alone, $1 million in product is sold every month.

A powerful antioxidant, 400 % more potent than vitamin C, the extract has many benefits for health and wellbeing, ranging from maintaining a healthy heart and cardiovascular system to improving quality of sleep and energy levels.

As the economic downturn curbs spending worldwide on discretionary goods, the health sector appears immune to the devastating effects of the global slowdown.

Olive Leaf Australia is owned by health enthusiasts Ray and Julian Archer, who spent years travelling the world researching the powerful extract of the olive leaf.

In 2001 they became so convinced of its healing qualities that they began bottling and selling it.

Never did they imagine that a few short years later their backyard business would morph into the world’s largest specialised olive leaf grove and the extract would triumph as a multimillion-dollar international business.

“These days health is more important than wealth and people are prepared to invest in their health, even when they’re seeing their wealth eroded, but they still want to be smart about it,” says Mr Archer, 39.

“Our customers find the Olive Leaf Extract has a very broad spectrum of healing benefits, so they tend to cut back on buying a range of different supplements or tonics and are opting for a health tonic that will work broadly for the whole family.”

Worldwide sales for Olive Leaf Australia’s extract were up 40 per cent in the last quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, on the back of little marketing and a heavy reliance on word of mouth.

Olive Leaf Australia’s US-based partner distributes health supplements into more than 5000 health food stores across the US so they again expect a rapid jump in sales.

“The bottom line is, the Olive Leaf Extract works and every day more people become as convinced as we are of its innumerable health benefits.”

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• Woman charged in alleged olive pit scam (0)
• What to look for in olive oil (0)
• We Olive branches out (0)
• Virgin olive oil may help keep blood clot-free (1)
• Vigilance saves olive trees from infestation (1)

Harvesting near Dongara began at the weekend and will move further south to Gingin before wrapping up around June and July.

The department’s Dick Taylor says production is expected to rise by 3,000 tonnes to 15,000 tonnes this year, with oil production estimated around 2,500 tonnes.

He says favourable weather conditions have put the industry on track for a bumper harvest.

“Oh we had a pretty good flowering and fruit set in spring this year and more favourable weather, so more of the olives set on the trees and then with the heavier rainfall in early summer, we think that’s contributed to the trees being able to hang onto that fruit and develop into a better fruit size this year,” he said.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Related posts

• Victorian olive oil company makes splash (0)
• Viability of Timbercorp’s forests in doubt (0)
• USAID-Workshop for 40 Yemenis held to improve olive production, harvest (0)
• UCDAVIS: Olive-Growing Short Course Offers International Perspectives (1)
• UC Davis launches center to nurture emerging olive oil industry (2)