Georgia Farmers Strike Oil With Olives

Georgia Farmers Strike Oil With Olives CROPS Miscellaneous The Georgia Olive Farms GOF co-op has started introducing a new cash crop to farmers in the southeast U S GOF buys olives for processing and also sells seedling trees and offers turnkey programs for new growers     “We had our first commercial crop of about 3 tons last year ” says Kevin Shaw GOF     Shaw and his cousins Sam and Jason are founding members of the co-op planting their first orchard in 2009 Currently they and other members have 84 acres under production with the goal of up to 20 000 acres in the next few years     The reason for the stepped goals is to make sure they can match milling capacity and marketing with production explains Shaw Key to their plans for creating a high value product is quality control     “We want to keep the oil as fresh as possible ” he says “Even novice olive oil tasters comment on how fresh our oil tastes ”     The co-op had only 500 bottles of oil available from their first crush and has been busy exposing celebrity chefs and others to build future demand They expect to harvest 10 times as many olives in 2012 and up to 30 times as much within 4 years By this fall’s harvest GOF plans to have its own mill for processing the crop     In addition the co-op is selling three varieties of olive tree seedlings to interested growers They estimate 50 000 trees have been planted to date At 600 trees per acre the number is likely higher says Shaw who has fielded calls from three growers wanting to put in trees this spring     “We have a map of what we call the olive belt ” says Shaw “It runs from as far north as the Carolinas to as far south as central Florida and west to Mississippi We’ve had folks in Texas purchasing olive seedlings as well ”     Olives are already grown in Calif Ore Arizona and Texas However U S production is only about one percent of consumption For the Shaws and GOF that leaves lots of room for growth     “We are working with farmers to establish olive orchards throughout the olive belt ” says Shaw “GOF is an open co-op and we welcome new members ”     While establishing their first orchards GOF has also been evaluating watering systems comparing varieties and developing harvesting equipment Last year’s crop was picked with a modified blueberry harvester     “There are olive harvesters on the market but they cost two times as much as a blueberry harvester ” says Shaw “We had to beef it up a lot to be aggressive enough for olives; yet it can still roll into a blueberry field and be used there ”     GOF members worked with consultants from around the world to develop the optimal template Knowledge and skills learned including the use of high-density production are now being shared with others     “Olives were a new crop for me” says Shaw “We grow cotton peanuts and corn Olives take a different mindset and we haven’t figured everything out yet People who join in will be learning along with us ”     Contracts for growers are available Turnkey support includes all services related to establishing an olive orchard These can include location and purchase of land site preparation trees bamboo and trellis for seedling support posts irrigation planting management harvesting and milling GOF will also arrange for bottling labeling marketing and purchase of an orchard’s olive oil     For pricing on trees contact Georgia Olive Tree Nursery     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Georgia Olive Farms 39 Valdosta Highway P O Box 245 Lakeland Ga 31635 ph 229 356-3647; kevin@georgiaolivefarms com; www georgiaolivefarms com or Georgia Olive Tree Nursery P O Box 245 Lakeland Ga 31635 ph 229 560-5615; sam@georgiaolivefarms com

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