Tag: The Olive Oil Commission of California

The Olive Oil Commission of California (OOCC) Board of Directors has established a pre-season crop estimate of 1.8 million gallons for the 2022/23 season. The estimate is down significantly from the 2021/22 season when just over 3 million gallons were produced by OOCC members, who represent approximately 90 percent of California’s olive oil production.

The Board also reviewed and adopted a budget for the OOCC’s 2022/23 fiscal year. The assessment rate remains at 16 cents per gallon and is mandatory for producers with 5,000 gallons or more of olive oil per year.

The budget for OOCC expenses was approved at $416,000 with an additional $97,848 set aside in reserves. The OOCC expected expenditures breakdown as follows: $110,000 for the Testing and Sampling Program; $105,000 for Research; $38,000 for Outreach and $160,100 for Administration and Operations.

The Olive Oil Commission of California (OOCC) recently held an election to allow California olive oil producers to select representatives to its Board of Directors. Election results were announced at the June 6 Board meeting with Larry Maben, Maben Family LLC, voted in to represent olive oil growers from District 1. Jim Lipman, California Olive Ranch, was selected as the alternate Board member from this same district, which encompasses the counties of Butte, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity.

Samantha Dorsey, McEvoy of Marin, was re-elected to serve as the Board member representing growers in District 2, while Matt Lohse, Big W Ranch, was elected to serve as the alternate Board member from this District which includes the counties of Amador, Colusa, El Dorado, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba.

In District 3, Jeff Colombini, Lodi Farming, was elected to represent growers on the OOCC Board with Richard Marchini serving as the alternate. The Board also voted to appoint Dan Devico, Pomeian, to fill a vacant position as the alternate to Frank Olagaray, Blossom Farms, who is also a Board member representing growers in District 3. District 3 encompasses the remaining olive oil producing counties of Alameda, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Fresno, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Riverside,

San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne, and Ventura.

With respect to members of the Board representing olive oil handlers, Ciriaco Chavez of Boundary Bend Olives was re-elected to serve as the Handler Member for District 2. The alternate positions for handlers in both District 1 and District 2 are currently vacant. Any handler interested in serving in these positions should contact the OOCC.

A complete list of OOCC Board members and alternates can be found on the OOCC website here.