When Roleen Basson started Darling Olives about 10 years ago, she didn’t even eat olives. However, today her business produces about 30 product lines, and the Darling Olives footprint will soon extend to supermarkets beyond the Western Cape. Jay Ferreira reports.
“I have always been fascinated by olives,” says Darling Olives owner, Roleen Basson. “You can’t eat the fruit raw, but when cured they are delicious and so healthy. I knew nothing about olives when I started; I didn’t even eat olives, but was intrigued by the trees.”
When Roleen married Darling Creamery owner, Nicolaas Basson, in 1998, she moved onto the family farm, Alexanderfontein, just outside Darling in the Western Cape.
“There were olive trees already on the farm,” she explains, “in the areas where the soil was not suitable for vineyards.”
This was the beginning of Darling Olives, which, today, is supplied by olives produced on 70ha on Alexanderfontein.
STARTING SMALL
“I started with 50kg of olives from the trees on the farm,” explains Roleen. “There was no information available on the Internet on how to cure olives back in 2006, so it was trial and error. Nowadays there are consultants to answer your questions.” Roleen divided the 50kg of olives into different batches to try different recipes. The next year she processed 100kg and cured black and Kalamata olives, which she sold at the local Spar and farm stalls.
“We started out in the old dairy building on the farm, which is now the tasting room,” she explains. By 2008, business had improved and Roleen appointed her first staff member. She now employs 13 staff members.
“I like to do new things and work on new products,” she says, “so I surround myself with maintainers who look after the production processes.”
DEVELOPING PRODUCTS
The tonnage harvested from dryland olives is usually lower compared with irrigated olives, but olives produced under dryland conditions tend to have a more intense flavour.
Denne historien er fra 20 January 2017-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra 20 January 2017-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Syngenta Seedcare celebrates a decade of innovation
Syngenta's ambition is to enable their customers' investments to grow in healthy soil from treated seeds to young plants through innovation and collaboration, writes Magda du Toit.
Agri workers shine at Western Cape awards
Lindie-Alet van Staden, a garden and olive orchard manager at L’Ormarins Wine Estate in Franschhoek, was crowned as the Western Cape Prestige Agri-Worker of 2024 at a gala event recently held near Paarl.
Small and large farmers recognised at grain awards
The annual Grain SA/Syngenta awards ceremony bears testimony to the quality of farmers in the grain industry.
Growing partnerships: Fedgroup's flexible and innovative approach
Janine Ryan spoke to Warren Winchester, general manager of impact investing at Fedgroup, about why the company became involved in agriculture, and what it offers farmers and their immediate communities.
Why fish farms fail, and how to avoid becoming a statistic
The popularity of launching fish farms is not matched by their success. Leslie Ter Morshuizen, owner of Aquaculture Solutions, explores the factors that cause most of these businesses to go under.
Where history and modernity meet in a luxurious setting
Brian Berkman kept his eyes peeled for ghosts in the oldest continuously run hotel in South Africa, but all he found was a fabulous two-night stay.
THE HITCHING POST
I'm a stylish elderly lady with a radiant glow and a good sense of humour that keeps me young at heart.
Cutworms: check the weeds on your fields!
Zunel van Eeden explains why understanding the ecological interplay between cutworms and weeds is crucial for effective pest management. Producers should disrupt the life cycle of cutworms to minimise crop damage.
Does high-density grazing mimic grazing patterns of game?
In their paper on high-density grazing in Southern Africa, professors Angelinus Franke and Elmarie Kotzé from the Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences at the University of the Free State say high-density grazing systems may not accurately reflect natural ecosystems. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Global grain outlook: 2024/25 marketing season
In its latest summer crops report, the Crop Estimates Committee says South African farmers intend to plant 4,47 million hectares of summer grains and oilseeds in the 2024/25 season, up 1% from the previous season. As South Africa exports maize and soya bean, Annelie Coleman reports on the latest trends in the international grain and oilseed markets, amid fluctuations in weather conditions and ongoing armed conflicts.
