Aug. 25—Soon the "plunk, plunk" sound of olives dropping into buckets will resonate as olive pickers harvest this year's table olive crop in California.
In preparation to the 2021 harvest, the Olive Growers Council went to the table with the state's two major table olive processors, Musco Family Olive Company and Bell Carter Foods, to iron out a price agreement on the crop.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its California table olive forecast said this year's crop is estimated at 55,000 tons, up considerably from last year's crop of 23,200 tons. Statewide the bearing acreage for table olives is 12,800. In Tehama County the acreage has been dwindling with the 2019 Agriculture Report showing table olive acreage at 4,333 bearing acres that produced 31,154 tons at a value of $29 million.
Corning table olive grower Ross Turner, who has served on several local and state olive industry committees and boards, said at one time, at its peak, there were about 38,000 acres in table olives statewide.
The Manzanillo table olive production is forecast this year at 53,800 tons, while the Sevillano production is only 1,100 tons and other varieties are expected to total 100 tons statewide.
Turner said his Sevillano crop is dismal, while his Manzanillo crop looks good.
"Olive prices for this year are incrementally up compared to last year. I will be harvesting all of my trees, even those with little production, for the health and sanitation of my orchards," he added. "But picking the Sevillano crop will be a loss financially."
Table olive prices this year range from $1,250 per ton for extra large/jumbo for Manzanillo to $800 for subpetite; and for Sevillano $1,050 for super colossal to $600 for extra large "L"; both varieties pay out $10 per ton for undersize and culls.
Growers of table olives have be fraught with issues over the past two decades, ranging from the destruction by the olive fruit fly, lack of labor for harvest and competition from foreign imports.
Those issues, and more, have led to a dramatic decrease in table olive acreage.
"That number has dropped to less than 13,000 producing acres and declining," he added.
The industry has experienced a massive reduction in table olive acres in the state and farmers are beginning to look for and plant more profitable crops.
However, Musco Family Olives Company has been very proactive in finding ways to keep table olives on the forefront in California agriculture by offering growers a new way of planting and harvesting their crop. The company is leading the way in high-density planting and mechanical harvesting — a practice that may bring growing table olives back into popularity.