Facing a deluge of lower-price products from Europe, the California olive oil industry is doubling down on its clear-cut competitive edge: the consistent and bona fide quality of its oil.
“Olive Production Manual for Oil,” a new book published by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, aims to help California olive growers maximize that advantage.
“It’s a tough market to compete in, but I think the way to win for California is to compete on quality,” said book co-editor Selina Wang, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology. “The quality of California olive oil is unmatched, but you can’t make good quality olive oil with bad fruit, so the goal is to get more fruit from the trees – and for the fruits to be high-quality fruit.”
The 273-page manual, available for purchase online, is the first of its kind in the U.S. While some parts of the book are specific to California (which grows nearly all of the olives for domestically produced olive oil), most of the material would be useful to producers in other states, Wang noted.
“Through our conversations with growers, it became clear to us that a manual like this – not a scientific publication but a manual that is easy to follow, written in language that is accessible, and with pictures and illustrations – would be really helpful to the growers,” she said.
Growth of California olive oil industry necessitated creation of manual
Aside from a book focused predominantly on table olives and another on organic olive production (by UCCE farm advisor emeritus Paul Vossen), there was no one-stop, comprehensive resource on the bookshelf for oil olive growers. The need for such a manual had become more acute as oil olives replaced table olives in California orchards during the last 20 years.
Whereas harvesting by hand was historically cost-prohibitive, the introduction of super-high-density planting systems in 1999 made oil olive production more economically feasible. Mechanical pruning and harvesting of new cultivars (Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki) – specifically bred for these densely planted orchards – led to the rapid expansion of oil olives in the state. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, California olive oil production jumped from 2 million pounds in 2006 to an average of 21 million pounds in 2021–23.
With about 37,000 acres of oil olives planted across California, the Olive Oil Commission of California saw the need to support the production of this manual. Championed by Dan Flynn, founder and executive director emeritus of the UC Davis Olive Center, Wang and co-editor Louise Fergusonoutlined the contents of the book. They then sought out a mix of growers and industry professionals and UCCE advisors and specialists to write its chapters.
“Most of the information is data-based, from people who are working with the olives,” said Ferguson, a UC Cooperative Extension pomologist at UC Davis. “This is the first data-based olive oil production manual we’ve had.”
Manual infused with firsthand insights, practical recommendations
Hard-earned experience taught growers a valuable lesson that is conveyed in the book – the need to hand-prune. While mechanical pruning helps control the size of the trees, some hand-pruning is still required to allow light to filter to the leaves. Failing to do so leads to a dramatic decrease in yield.
“That happened in many of the orchards that were inexperienced in these new cultivars and new super-high-density planting systems,” Ferguson said.
She added that other key topics in the manual include irrigation management in a water-constrained state, nitrogen management, harvest timing and orchard site selection. Choosing a good spot for planting is crucial in this era of extreme climate volatility, Ferguson noted, as olive trees are significantly affected by temperature shocks in spring (fruit set) and fall (harvest).
For Wang, another overarching theme in the manual is the importance of testing. Testing the soil, water and leaves provides critical data that growers can use to adjust their inputs and production practices for optimal profitability.
“You may spend a couple hundred dollars on the lab work, but it will pay off, for sure – you’re going to increase the health and productivity of your trees,” Wang explained. “Oil olive growers are paid based on the oil content in their fruit; you not only want to have a lot of fruit on the trees, you want to make sure that your fruit are accumulating oil.”
California oil olive growers, practices continue to evolve
Wang and Ferguson hope their book will help California producers compete more effectively in the global marketplace. Currently, about 90% of the olive oil consumed in the U.S. is imported from Mediterranean countries, due primarily to the lower price point. In that region, producers tend to harvest riper olives that produce oil at a greater volume but lesser quality.
In contrast, California growers harvest earlier and produce oil that is higher quality (with more flavor and more antioxidants) and far exceeds accepted standards for “extra virgin olive oil.”
According to Wang, California olive oil mills have nearly maximized their efficiency, and the growth opportunity for the industry is in the orchards: to optimize practices to produce more fruit, and to plant more trees. Wang said the new manual can help on both fronts.
“Just like for other crops, focusing on quality – while increasing efficiency and productivity, and therefore profitability – is the name of the game,” she said.
Ferguson also stressed that knowledge continues to evolve and urged growers to reach out to the editors and chapter authors with their experiences.
“Most of the authors are in California and they’re working,” she said. “So if you start to notice things that are different, or you want more information or something is not clear, the authors are available.”
The manual can be purchased at https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/Details.aspx?itemNo=3559. — By Michael Hsu, UCANR
