Just over twelve years ago, my family and I moved to Lake County. We were driving on Highway 395 in Oregon, nearing the California border. Mount Shasta stood tall and serene against the azure sky. The weaving, shimmering asphalt told of the day’s rising temperature as we approached the border inspection station. “Any fruits or vegetables, ma’am?” the man inquired. I smiled back with great exuberance as I proclaimed, “No sir, I’ve already planned for this moment, and we finished eating the last of our fruit for lunch.” I beamed in triumph. His eyebrows raised, and his eyes widened as he welcomed me to California. Cheers, whistles, hoots, and hollers came from the kids in the back seat but soon faded as we drove on and on, seemingly never getting us nearer to our destination and future home. And what does all of this have to do with AgVenture? I’m so glad you asked!
Meet Sam Upton, Deputy Agricultural Commissioner, Deputy Sealer of Weights & Measures, Lake County Dep of Agriculture. Whew, now that’s a title. In short, Sam oversees spray permits and inspections (like our border inspection) and is always on the lookout for invasive species. Yep, he helps manage California’s borders, ensuring no invasive pests hurt our crops.
In addition to protecting what comes into California, Sam also looks out for what leaves our border to ensure our crops maintain every country’s high standards of what is allowed over their borders. And if that’s not enough, Sam also checks scales in grocery stores, shipments, and even the gas and Farmers Markets to ensure they are selling what they say they are selling. In addition, he checks for any potential threats to our local crops, whether invasive species or potential disease. He even works with agencies to trap wildlife that would threaten our crops and beekeepers to ensure nearby farms never threaten their bees. Talk about a big job!
But let’s bring all that oversight closer to home and look at the next up-and-coming thing in Lake County: Olive oil. There’s a good reason why Lake County is known for its olive oil, largely thanks to the hard work and creative marketing techniques of Paul Manuel, owner of Chacewater Winery and Olive Mill.
“The quality of olive oil matters,” Paul stated. “Always check for California-certified oil and look at the date it was bottled. And if the olive oil is in a clear container, that’s a problem because the sun’s UV rays damage the oil’s health benefits.”
“In fact, my blood labs have never looked better,” Paul continued. “My doctor asked me what I am doing to stay so healthy because he’s never seen anything like it. I told him I work hard and eat olive oil for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I guess it seems to be working because he told me not to stop what I am doing,” he laughed.
After a short chat, the class makes its way to the processing plant, which is only one building over from the barrel room. At peak harvest, the olive mill processes ten to twelve tons per day and can convert one ton of whole olives to oil in only one hour! Of course, the magic of olive oil lies in knowing when to pick the olives. For a stronger flavor, pick your olives green. For a smoother flavor, wait until your olives are black. The trick is to find the balance between green and black. Most people prefer a sixty/forty percent mix of green to black olives for taste.
Once the olives are picked, the full bins are lined up to be processed. Much like grapes, they go through a rinsing process that separates the olives from leaves and stems before being ground up and mixed as a paste, which needs to rest for thirty to forty minutes for the oil to separate. Then, it is processed one more time to separate the pure oil from particulates and finally becomes the purest olive oil you can find, ready to be bottled and distributed by Chacewater or one of Paul’s business partners for retail.
The pièce de résistance is coming back to the barrel room for a private tasting of Chacewater’s house olive oil. And very much like wine, one starts with the lightest tasting olive oil and slowly makes the way to the more robust flavors before ending with, of course, balsamic vinegar. And nothing pairs better with olive oil than a glass of Chacewater wine!
Then the fun and games are over, and it’s back to school after a lovely lunch catered by Ripe Choice Farm and Catering.
“So let’s talk about Biotechnology,” says Eric Aasen, Retired Biotechnologist, as we sat at our tables for the classroom session. Eric shared several fascinating details about GMOs in our food. For example, everything in a plant’s environment affects its genome. These changes happen to plants all of the time and can have the three following effects:
- Silent change: the change is unnoticeable
- Positive: the change is favorable to the plant
- Negative: the change is obviously harmful to the plant.
But these changes are constantly happening naturally in our environment. And, since the beginning of time, humans have been modifying crops and plants. How do you think we have so many varieties of tomatoes, potatoes, and lettuce? So whether we agree with biotechnology and science getting involved, there is no chance of stopping Mother Nature from doing its own bioengineering.
The day ended with three supervisors of local farms telling their story of how they came to the US without documents, made a way for themselves, rose to leadership positions within our local agriculture farms and vineyards, and are now leaders in our community and giving back as American citizens. By the end of their story and questions from the class, it became clear that immigration is key to agriculture, and migrant workers herd our sheep, pick our grapes, and harvest our fruits and vegetables. In short, they help put food on the American table.
It was a day filled with experience. The AgVenture class offered an insightful journey through modern agriculture, starting with the pear harvest in August, traveling through grapes and walnuts, and finishing with olives. Each step of the way, I learned more about the importance of agriculture in Lake County, California, and the world. My big takeaway from the class is if one is invited to attend AgVenture 2025, you’d be a fool to say no. The experience is unforgettable, and the knowledge learned is life-changing. Many thanks for the experience, Lake County California Women for Agriculture, and here’s to 2025. Cheers!
