Religious Orders in the Olive Oil Business

Several religious orders in California are following the tradition of tending olive trees set by the early missionaries. There has been a resurrection of old groves by traditional orders and new planting by religious groups new to California.

Olive trees and grapes have been tended by monastic orders for thousands of years in the Mediterranean world. On the Acropolis in Athens is the first olive tree said to have been given by Athena to mankind. Athena's priests tended the useful tree as a ritual of their order.   With the discovery of the new world, the Jesuit missions continued the farming tradition. The missions were designed to be self-sufficient with grape vines and olive cuttings sent from Spain for food and the rituals of the church. Olive oil was used for anointing at births and deaths and wine was a part of the sacrament of the Catholic church.

The Mission Olive Preservation, Restoration and Education Project aims to reestablish olive trees at many of the original California missions established by the Franciscan order. Cuttings and truncheons taken from some of the original mission trees which are now hundreds of years old have been planted where the original orchards once stood. At Soledad mission the olive oil will be used during services and will be sold in the mission gift shops.

In Northern California Father Bernie Bush organized the harvest of olive trees at the Jesuit Retreat House and the Carmelite monastery in Santa Clara. Unfortunately the olive fly has stopped Father Bush's traditional Thanksgiving weekend volunteer harvest.

The Dominican sisters at Mission San Jose still harvest olives growing on church property to make oil for use during services and as a fund raiser. This year they hope to sell 3,500 bottles of olive oil at their annual Holiday Boutique.

Instead of harvesting ornamental or heritage trees, there are religious groups planting new orchards as part of their long term planning. Starcross Monastery in Sonoma county is a small independent community of lay women and men "offering encouragement and affirmation to gentle folk on all spiritual paths." According to Sister Marti, their interest in olives developed after considering several cash crops for monastery farmland that could support their mission. Grapes were felt to require too much expert knowledge and olives went along with the monastic tradition they follow. Their olive trees are young and have not yet produced so they are offering holiday wreaths as a fund raiser this year instead of olive oil.

Saint Gregory of Sinai Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox men’s community established in 1983. In 2000 the monastery was moved to Kelseyville, California where their property has olive orchards. Traditionally the monks have supported their activities through ikon painting; cards and large frescoes. Some of the churches the monks have adorned include the Church of SS Gregory and Anastasia, Bernweiller, Alsace, France and St. Seraphim of Sarov, Santa Rosa. Recently, through the generosity of parishioner Michael Gombos, the monks have a new Pieralisi Fattoria 2 olive oil press to process their olives. They hope to generate income from sale of the oil to Eastern orthodox communities throughout the country.

Contact information:

Starcross Monastery for information or a wreath: (707) 886-1919
Saint Gregory of Sinai Monastery 707-279-0488

High Density Orchard at California State University, Fresno

The first high density olive orchard in the San Joaquin Valley – 13,000 olive trees, were planted at California State University, Fresno. 
Olint magazine interviewed officer Gino Favagrossa at the university for more details:

Olint: Gino, can you please describe your training and experience, as well as your position at CSU, Fresno?

G. Favagrossa: My family is originally Italian. My whole life I have been involved with agriculture. I have been at Fresno State for almost 20 years. Initially I worked for the viticulture program for 10 years, then for the programs in pitted fruits, citrus, walnut, almond, and pistachio. I graduated from Fresno State in Agricultural Business and then worked on vineyard, cotton, and corn cultivation. Later I received my Masters degree in Business Administration. Nowadays I am the technical officer at the University Farm Laboratory, and I also direct its marketing and sales.

Olint: What are the objectives of the University Farm Laboratory?

G. Favagrossa: As part of the California State University system, our school has the privilege of being located at the center of the San Joaquin Valley, the most fertile area in our nation and probably in the world. For that reason the main objective of Fresno State University Farm Laboratory is to educate the new generation of production managers, farmers, and agricultural workers from a practical point of view, with an emphasis on production. We believe that, in order to educate our students, we must have experimental fields that are economically viable and must generate income to sustain this type of practical education. This is why we have decided to dedicate 22 acres to high density olive cultivation.

Olint: What is your spacing and what varieties are you using?

G. Favagrossa: Spacing is 6 by 12 feet, the standard for vineyards in our area, especially for raisin vineyards. This affords us easy conversion between our vineyards and this type of high density plantation for olive oil production. Our main olive variety is Arbequina clone I-18, but we have some Arbosana clone I-43 and Koroneiki I-38 as well.

Olint: What prospects does the vineyard have in California at this time?

G. Favagrossa: It’s terrible! The current situation is very bad and it looks like that will last a long time. Two years ago, before learning about the high density olive cultivation system, my own family uprooted 25 acres of vineyards in order to plant almonds. In the last year I have witnessed more vineyards disappear than in the last 30 years of my life. Renowned wine production areas like Napa and Sonoma are managing to stay afloat in this market of overproduction. But the San Joaquin Valley, and in general California’s central valley, are suffering the impact of great worldwide overproduction.

Olint: What do you think about high density olive cultivation as a viable alternative for farmers in your area?

G. Favagrossa: I think it has great potential. I consider that, because this is a new product, most producers, especially small ones with limited economic capacity and generally a conservative stance, are waiting to have contracts or other sales guarantees before committing to this type of plantations. They want to focus exclusively on the process of production, the way most other industries work, for example the walnut and almond industries.

But I also believe that a group of organizations is going to emerge that, in order to maximize profits, will not only will produce olives, but also process them and ultimately reach the final consumer with high quality olive oil. These will be companies with commercial networks and similar products in the market, such as is the case with some wineries or other agro alimentary companies.

Today in the United States there is a tendency towards improving eating behaviors, and here olive oil can have a very important role. The popularity and proliferation of supermarkets such as Trader Joe’s confirm this tendency. Consumption of seed oils is decreasing and it is being replaced with olive oil.
You just have to observe the change in the American consumer in the last 20 years with respect to wine, which caused the California wine industry to explode.

G. Favagrossa: I think that product differentiation, locally produced in California and not coming from Europe, is going to be a decisive factor for this industry to take off. Besides, I believe that a favorable Euro-Dollar exchange rate, combined with the end of European Union subsidies to oil production, will help the local industry to be competitive with respect to imported oils.

I also think that when this industry starts to emerge, it will have a domino effect and will grow exponentially. We are probably talking about a period of two or three years, but it is difficult to quantify at this time.

One thing is for sure: olive oil consumption will continue to grow. Just 10% of what the United States imports would be a huge production for California.

Olint: What do you think about the high degree of mechanization in this type of plantations?

G. Favagrossa: I think it is the only way to success! It was the main motivation for our high density plantation. I think mechanization is indispensable for the future of agriculture. Otherwise it could happen as in other sectors of our fruit industry, where labor amounts to 50% or more of total costs. That situation is devastating California’s fruit industry. On the other hand our land has a desert climate; therefore another important factor is the efficient use of water with low-consumption trees, like the olive, and more advanced irrigation methods like dripping.

Even the raisin industry is changing its pruning practices, so that continuous harvesting machines can be used. Profit margins are so narrow that, if the farmer can reduce harvesting costs by $200, that will probably be his net profit per acre.

With this olive system, initially during the first three years the process is more costly, but once the plantation has been established costs are minimal. Another important factor is the improvement in the quality of the final product, since harvesting the olive quickly and cleanly allows its processing in a short period of time, resulting in an enormous improvement in the quality of olive oil.

COOC Membership Agreement

A July California Olive Oil News article discussed proposed changes in the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) membership agreement.  In response to that article the COOC board has issued this statement:

First- No one is either being denied membership or being excluded from the COOC. Rather, the COOC has decided to adopt truth in labeling standards that will enable its members to market their product more effectively. To accomplish this, those who join our organization must agree to submit their oils for certification as well as agree to adhere to a broader code of ethics.

Second- At present the COOC requires only that California oil labeled Extra Virgin be submitted for certification. Lesser grades of oil need not be.

Third- (And here, we believe, there is a great confusion on your part) It is not each bottling which need be certified, but rather each lot of oil. Once a lot is certified it remains so, no matter how large or small the bottles, nor how many labels it is bottled under. Further, different certified batches may be mixed without re-certification. Finally, the requirements apply only to oils produced Fall 2004 and beyond, not to those produced in prior seasons.         continued -->