California continues to plant olive trees

This year olive oil production will top 1 million gallons for the first time. In opinion of Davis University California could emerge as a world leader in a relatively short period of time

by Graziano Alderighi

Growers have invested millions laying the groundwork to become a player in the global olive oil market, now controlled by Spain, Italy and Greece.

In the past 10 years, roughly 7.5 million trees have been tightly planted on 12,500 acres, an experiment growers hope will make California olive oil cheaper and fresher than that of their competitors. State officials estimate that in another decade there will be 100,000 acres of hedgerow trees producing 20 million gallons of oil to help sate Americans' 75 million gallons-a-year thirst — 99.99 percent of it now imported.

"There's a promising future ahead for this crop," says Dan Flynn, head of the Olive Research Center at UC-Davis. "With the growth in olive plantings, California could emerge as a world leader in a relatively short period of time. It might take 20 years, but that's how long it took with the other crops."

In 2003, planting took off after years of tests showed hedgerows that cram 600 trees to an acre, instead of 150, produce olives just as flavorful. In 2007, the value of olives in California increased by 378 percent over 2006, and olives jumped from 66 to 43 on the list of California's top 400 commodities.

by Graziano Alderighi
07 December 2009 Teatro Naturale International n. 11 Year 1

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