02 Mar

South Australian olive growers to pay new levy

A new levy paid by South Australian olive growers will help promote and further develop the industry.
From this harvest, growers will pay a $4 levy on each tonne of fruit they produce.
Olives South Australia president Lisa Rowntree says it will increase by a dollar a year for the next three years to eventually [...]

27 May

Bug takes heavy toll on Australian olive growers

A number of olive groves in the Lower Hunter have nothing to harvest this year because of widespread damage from the olive lace bug.
Mike Wilson from the Hunter Olive Growers Association says the weather this year has been a major factor in the spread of the bug, which he estimates has destroyed at least 100 [...]

27 Apr

Origin of Olives in South Africa

In 1902, after completing his studies at Saint Illario Agricultural College in Genoa, Ferdinando Costa arrived in Cape Town to assist his brother Raphael, who had set up a successful nursery in Wynberg. After a few years, Ferdinando was able to obtain his own small piece of land opposite the new Fernwood Estate in Newlands [...]

24 Apr

Spain: Sales of organic olive oil increased

In Spain, approximately 8.5 million kilograms of organic olive oil were put on the market in 2007. This quantity made olive oil the most important product regarding economic value and trade volume generated in the organic sector. According to the data of the Andalusian Committee for Organic Agriculture (CAAE), sales of this product increased by [...]

23 Apr

California: Big olive mill in works

By Jim Downing,
Oroville-based California Olive Ranch Inc. plans to break ground today near Artois, Glenn County, on what it says will be the largest olive oil mill in North America.
The plant, which the company hopes to begin operating in October, will be able to process 76,000 gallons of olive oil a day, according to California [...]

20 Apr

California olive oils are growing on us

By Greg Atkinson,
Last September, when I was in California, I enjoyed a picnic in the shade of some enormous old olive trees. The tables were covered with Provençal fabrics, and when we sat down to eat, we were greeted with bright green olive oil poured onto plates for dipping the artisanal breads that awaited us [...]

13 Apr

Pakistan: Govt planning to boost olive oil production

By Ijaz Kakakhel,
Realising importance of olive oil, the government is planning to encourage its production for meeting local requirements as well as for the export purposes.
An official in the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock told Daily Times here on Saturday there is a lot of potential for olive cultivation in the country.
According to an [...]

10 Apr

Port Lincoln, South Australia: Record olive harvest expected

The region’s olive trees are bursting with fruit this year, after a low yield in 2007 due to drought.
The olive industry is looking up for Eyre Peninsula, with a record amount of olives, according to olive press operator and olive grower Peter Green.
Mr Green started harvesting his olives with the mechanical harvester he part-owns last [...]

07 Apr

Florida: Marion couple looks forward to seeing olive crop come in

By Lora E. Ide,
Beginning April 17, from 8 a.m. to noon, and each Thursday thereafter, there will be a farmers’ market at On Top Of the World. To learn more, visit the Web site www.circlesquarecommons.com/
farmersmarket/index.html.
After 12 years of growing the exotic trees, more often seen in California or in Mediterranean countries, the two believe they [...]

04 Apr

Quality olive oil worth its weight in taste, nutrients

By Linda Hoffman,
Olive oil is delicious and healthy, containing a monounsaturated fat, needed antioxidants and enzymes.
We need to look for expeller first cold pressed oil, which means it has been produced without damaging heat and chemical solvents. The term “extra virgin” by itself is no longer sufficient to guarantee quality, as some imports have been [...]

27 Mar

India’s olive experiment take off in Rajasthan this week

Can India become a major producer and exporter of olive oil?
50,000 sapling of various varieties will be planted near Jaipur to find the Variety most suitable to India.
By Siddhartha Sarma,
The agriculture board of a desert state, a micro-irrigation firm, and an Israeli company think so. Later this week, 50,000 olive saplings of various varieties [...]

16 Mar

The humble olive

JAMES HIPKISS writes on the history, varieties and best ways to enjoy olives.
Most Malaysians are familiar with olive oil. It is now commonly available in ever increasing varieties in nearly all supermarkets and specialist shops.
However, the olive itself is not so commonly used here, and perhaps not so often seen in most Malaysian kitchens.
After all, [...]

13 Mar

UCDAVIS: Olive-Growing Short Course Offers International Perspectives

Olive experts from the United States, Spain and Italy will teach the latest techniques in growing olives for commercial olive-oil production during an April 18-19 public short-course coordinated by the UC Davis Olive Center.
The course, to be held in Lodi, will begin Friday, April 18, with an update on olive-oil production in the United States [...]

12 Mar

Texas olive industry branches out to meet growing demand

The Texas Department of Agriculture reports the Lone Star State’s olive industry is poised for unprecedented growth in 2008, thanks to advances in olive tree production and an increased demand for olive oil. The industry was first established in 1994 with roughly 20,000 trees on four orchards. Today, the number of olive trees has grown [...]

29 Feb

EU Seeks Answers From Italy Over Olive Oil Labels

The European Commission has given Italy two months to explain why it obliges olive oil producers to mark the origin of the olives on product labels in contravention of E.U. laws, a spokesman said Friday.
“As far as we are concerned, that is not in conformity with European legislation, where voluntary labeling is possible but not [...]