Kakariki Olives

John and Helen Dunlop are former sheep and beef farmers. These days they produce a range of olive oils from their grove in Redwood Valley near Nelson. The Dunlops spent 10 years on a 5,000 s/u sheep and beef farm in the Nelson region. Prior to that they’d been in the building industry – first in Wellington and then later in Queensland, Australia.

They have put in more than twelve years of hard work on their 11-hectare grove. They bought the block in 1999, clearing the land, planting 3000 trees, and nurturing them with regular pruning, mowing and weed control,.

They’ve used consultants along the way but have learnt that the best experts on how to grow the crop are themselves.

There are challenges in the Nelson region and variations, depending on where you are – soil types, frost zones and even small microclimates for rain.

They have a range of olive varieties in the grove. The three oil producing varieties grown are leccino, Minerva and Frantoio as well as Kalamata for table olives, and a few Picual and Picholine trees.

John’s been involved with the local branch of Olives NZ since he joined in 2001.

New Zealand olive growing conditions are said to be some of the best in the world. The mix of cool winds, warm sunshine, clean air and seasonal rain ensures generally good crops. Unlike traditional growing countries, New Zealand does not have the temperature extremes found in these areas so olive trees grow and flourish year round.

Nelson in particular has some of the best soils and climate for olive growing. Nelson lies at a similar latitude to Tuscany in Italy, and oils produced here share the same characteristics.

That reputation is not just industry PR. Internationally the reputation of the oil is very high. This is borne out by the successes of New Zealand oils in international competitions.

This time of year the race is on to pull in the harvest before frost starts affecting the olives. While frost is a killer on ripening olives, rain also isn’t good at harvest time. The fruit becomes waterlogged and yields a lower percentage than normal, and some of the fruitiness and complexity of flavour is lost.

This year’s harvest isn’t looking good. A poor growing season and the fact that olives tend to be biennial has led to growers estimating that Nelson’s crop will be 50 percent down on last year’s 240 tonnes. However the flavours from the oils already pressed are as good as ever.

Other parts of the country have had similar problems with the exception of Northland, where the crop is looking very good.

The Dunlops used to contract a mechanical harvester (tree shaker) from the North Island but these days they use Roger Armstrong’s new $150,000 imported harvester. Roger owns Tasman Bay Olives which also has an industrial size press.

The Dunlops used to run their own press but the low volumes their small press could handle made using Tasman’s press a smarter option.

This time of year Roger Armstrong’s press is running virtually 24 /7. During the season it processes around 180 tonnes of fruit.

In a good year the Dunlops sell half of their oil themselves at markets or at the farm gate under the Kakariki Olives label, with the rest going to the grower-owned group Nelson Olives which markets its Oriwa brand oil to supermarkets and other retail outlets.

John Dunlop is a director of Nelson Olives, which this last year expected to produce about 4000 to 5000 litres of oil from four growers.

The couple have been regulars at the Nelson Market – selling oil as well as natural olive oil soap. They have had first hand experience of attempting to market their oil overseas, but now believe that the best marketing opportunities lie with the local market.

John is also on the Olives New Zealand executive .

The industry was at a crossroads in 2008 when a proposed grower levy to provide secure funding for the organization for R &D and marketing didn’t get sufficient support. John Dunlop says the industry needs to get more unified at a national level to make progress.

Olive Growers Nelson is a regional group of Olives New Zealand and was formed in 1997. The idea was to provide a forum for local growers to share knowledge and experience. They have grower meetings and field days, and are proactive in the promotion of local olive oil.

New Zealand olive growers have historically struggled to get much traction on the local or international market despite the fact that the product is clearly superior. Locally that is starting to change with consumer tests showing the imported product is often of a low standard in comparison with oil from locally grown fruit. New Zealanders generally are gaining a greater appreciation of the Mediterranean diet, including olive oil, and the increases in sales of local oil throughout the country bear this out.

The industry hasn’t helped itself . There’s been infighting, which forced a national levy referendum to be postponed. There were allegations a few years ago of impropriety during the judging of the NZ olive oil awards. The current executive of Olives New Zealand is making a concerted effort to bring unity back into the industry, and the signs are good for this to happen.