By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | April 01, 2009
Jim Parr, foreman for Gordon Valley Farms, stands in an olive tree grove on Suisun Valley Road. Olives are a growing business in the Suisun Valley, which is mostly known for its grape production. Photo by Brad Zweerink
FAIRFIELD - Wine gets the glory and acreage, but Solano County is home to another import industry -- olives.
Although the numbers pale in comparison with the area's wine industry, acreage for fruit-bearing olive trees has been increasing for several years. And the local industry may make a quantum leap in coming months if Mark and Ann Sievers have their way.
'There's quite a bit of demand and the demand is increasing,' Mark Sievers said. 'There are not very many areas that have the type of climate you need.'
The Sievers plan to establish a private olive mill on about 15 acres of Suisun Valley land they recently purchased and on which they are planting olive trees. Their ultimate vision is a facility that would process not only their fruit, but also the olives of neighboring farmers and residents.
That would enable someone who keeps only a few trees on their property to economically turn the olives into a high-quality, boutique product, said Jim Parr, foreman for Gordon Valley Farms. His company grows predominantly grapes but has organic olives growing across Suisun Valley.
'The industry itself is probably 20 years behind the grape industry,' Parr said. 'It is going to take a little more time and education to get it back up to speed. But (olive oil) is a huge part of the Mediterranean diet and it could be the same thing here.'
There have been some efforts to link Solano County's growing industry with that of neighboring Yolo County, which shares the Mediterranean climate that has proven ideal for olive production.
The UC Cooperative Extension in 2008 launched a monthly journal called Olive Notes that tracks industry developments in the two counties. The upstart group California Center for Cooperative Development has been studying the possibility of a cooperatively owned mill that would serve both areas.
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