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Most California table olives are picked by hand. Growers continue to weigh decisions about switching to orchards that can be mechanically harvested. They’re forecast to harvest 55,000 to 67,000 tons of the fruit this year, up from 23,000 tons in 2020.
Olives Continued from Page 3
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shook out,” he said. “I think it’s going to be in the positive. I think our growers are really optimistic about the industry.” Glenn County grower Mike Silveira, who serves as chairman of the council, said he’s pinning his hopes on current research to adapt mechanical harvesting for older trees, which could take anoth- er four to five years to perfect. With the current shaker technology on mod- ern trees, he said he thinks there will be renewed interest in growing table olives, particularly from farmers who currently don’t grow them and want to diversify. “I think the industry still has a bright future,” he said. Tulare County grower John Werner, who now sells his table olives toMusco after being dropped by Bell-Carter, said he plans to “ride it out a little bit longer” by maintaining his 12 acres. But he’s also planting pistachios. With picking costs about 65% of his gross pay for the crop, he said it no longer makes economic sense to keep the trees, but he also can’t afford the $26,000 to remove them. “For a little guy likemyself, that’s a lot ofmoney,” he said. “I’d have to go borrow that. It’s not simple just to say, OK, we’re done, pull it out.” Though he doesn’t knowmuch about develop- ment ofmechanical harvesting for older orchards, he said he would be more inclined to go with that approach if it can remove 90% of the fruit without causing damage. As a grower with trees that are more than 100 years old, Joan Vanderhorst of Tulare County said “it would be crazy” to pull them. But she acknowl- edged the move to mechanical harvesting needs to happen if the California table olive sector wants to remain viable. “Musco’s right,” she said. “The industry needs to adjust.” (Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.)
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3 to 3-1/2 tons of fruit per acre, the higher-den- sity plantings—at 200 to 250 trees per acre vs. 80 trees in traditional orchards—can yield 6 to 7 tons, Burreson said. These economic factors aremajor selling points, plus the drought-tolerant nature of the trees and their lower water usage, he said. Burreson noted Musco has received more than 160 inquiries on its initiatve. About 30% of those trees have been committed, he said, with 15% to 20% already in the ground and 60% committed over the next two years. He estimated about 10% of the state’s current acres are already modern plantings. “I think for the industry to make its transition, it’s a 10-year process,” Burreson said. Hepersonally farmsmore than300 acres of table olives, withhalf of it traditional trees that are about 120 years old. As anearly adopter of thenewmethod, Burreson has been mechanically harvesting some of his trees for about 13 years. He said he expects he will eventually convert all his acres to modern plant- ings, adding, “it’s a matter of finances.” Growers say ripping out their old trees and starting over is expensive—not only in the initial redevelopment costs but because it takes years for the trees to produce enough fruit tomake income. Even though mechanical harvesting has been shown to be viable, it’s a matter of convincing growers to make the transition, especially those whose trees are more than a century old and may have sentimental value, said Todd Sanders, executive director of the Olive Growers Council of California. With this being a heavier crop year, Sanders said he thinks many growers will finallymake the decision on whether they want to remain in the olive business. “I think theywerewaiting to see howeverything
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September 15, 2021 Ag Alert 23
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