When you think about olive oil production, you likely think about the Meditteranean coasts of Italy and Greece and the mild climate of California. Georgia is not likely to be top-of-mind. However, olives were grown here for centuries. Starting this year, local olive oil will once again flow.
Jason, Sam, and Kevin Shaw planted their first olive trees near Lakeland, Georgia three years ago and harvested their first (tiny) olives for pressing this past September. They expect that the 2012 harvest will be even better. This is great news for those in Georgia who want to eat locally. Olive oil often comes from thousands of miles away and creates a large carbon footprint. Local olive oil will be both fresher and more environmentally-responsible.
The Spanish first brought olives to Georgia in the 1500s as they established their missions up the Georgia and South Carolina coasts. Thomas Jefferson planted olive groves along the coast, bringing variety to the basic Spanish olives. Olive trees all but disappeared in Georgia when two major hurricanes in the late 1800s wiped out trees, buildings, and houses on the coastal barrier islands. They were never replanted.
The Shaws' olive groves are an experiment in sustainable agriculture in Georgia. They offer farmers hope in replacing cotton and other declining crops. More and more olive groves are popping up all over Georgia and soon the olive oil will once again flow in the Southeast.
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