Slovenian olive growers celebrated World Olive Day November 26.

Some have just finished filtering and storing their olive oil in stainless steel containers in cellars with a fixed temperature of 14 ºC to 16 ºC.

“We can be satisfied,” Miran Adamič, the 64-year-old owner of the Ronkaldo organic farm in Izola, Slovenia, told Olive Oil Times.

Adamič, his wife Renata and son Martin grow 800 olive trees in their 2.9 ha olive grove in Baredi.

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The trees consist mainly of native varieties of Istrian white birch. The family still grows Maurina, Leccina, Pendolina, Itrana, Buga, Leccia del Corno and table olive varieties Storta, Mata and Ascolan.

The last seasons in Miran’s olive groves and others in Slovenia are characterized by high summer temperatures and a lack of precipitation.

“Last year, the crop was the weakest in terms of quantity since we have been growing olives,” said Adamič. ​“This year I can say that it is average, but the quality of the oil is above expectations.”

“The oil is of top quality, with balanced bitterness and spiciness as well as harmonious, distinct aromas and fruitiness, which is also confirmed by the chemical and sensory analyzes received,” he added.

In July and August, drought and extremely high temperatures indicated a we have a demanding harvest ahead of us. The olives resembled raisins.

however salvation came in September when heavy rains helped the olives recover.

“We picked beautiful, flawless olives,” said Adamič. ​“Admittedly, they contained a relatively large amount of water, and because of this, the proportion of oil in the fruit was lower – between 7.8 and 14 percent – depending on the variety and the microlocation where the individual tree grew.”

While the high temperatures and drought caused some discomfort ahead of the autumn rains, it also meant that the damage from olive flyone of the most important crop pests.

According to the monitoring carried out by the olive growers in their plantations and the Institute for Olive Growing of the Scientific Research Center (ZRS) Koper, there was practically no need to treat the olive fly because there was little evidence of the cost of the damage. pest.

The dry and somewhat hot weather during the harvest allowed Adamic to complete it without worrying too much about the fly.

Growers generally feel that everything went relatively well with the harvest this year, except increased production costs.

“The price of all energy products, bottles, cardboard packaging, processing costs and the costs of auxiliary labor, which we need to harvest olives, have gone up,” said Adamič. ​“The price reached almost €1 per kilogram produced.”

He adds that the costs of certification in Slovenia are quite high, but he praises the municipality of Izola, which subsidized part of these costs for the first time this year.

“Due to higher input costs dictated by market conditions, we were forced to adjust our prices this year extra virgin olive oiland now we are waiting for the last, equally important stage in the production process: successful sales,” said Adamič.

However, he had no problems with the sale. ​“We sell the majority of extra virgin olive oil to regular, long-term customers, tourists who come to our farm, and selected restaurants and boutiques in Slovenia and abroad,” said Adamič.

He founded Ronkaldo in 1984, after he leased half a hectare of abandoned agricultural land near the coastal town of Izola from the local municipal agricultural fund.

“In the beginning, we first had to clean up the completely abandoned and neglected land, and then we planted some crops and fruit trees,” said Adamič.

The first olive trees were planted in 1987. Then, in the mid-1990s, they bought another 0.5 ha of land and, following the advice of the agricultural advisory service, planted the first large olive grove with 350 trees.

The Adamič farm is located at 140 meters above sea level on the southern slope of the hill in the shape of an amphitheater, which creates an ideal environment for growing olives.

“Over the years, we acquired additional areas, but they were all neglected and overgrown and had to be cleaned and prepared for planting olives,” said Adamič.

They currently cultivate 3.2 ha of land, of which 800 olive trees are planted on 2.9 ha. However, most of the land is leased from the state fund of agricultural land and forests, and the Adamič family owns only a small part.

At first, they only produced a blend of extra virgin olive oil (cuvee). ​“Now we are increasingly producing single-variety oils from the varietal assortment of our plantations,” said Adamič.

The Adamič family has been awarded at local quality competitions for table olives and olive oil.