Food And Farm News
12-10-2025
State's olive oil production still has room for growth
California’s production of olives for oil has expanded in recent years, and experts expect the sector will continue to grow. The state produces about 2 million to 4 million gallons of olive oil annually, or about 5% to 8% of domestic consumption, meaning there is room in the market for additional production. The crop also has advantages for farmers in the Golden State. It is drought tolerant, requiring less water than other tree crops, and it does not bring high labor costs, as the fruit is harvested by machine. “This industry is in its infancy for California and the U.S., so we’re still seeing where we’re going with it, but I do feel there’s potential,” said Aaron Barcellos, who grows olives in Fresno County. Barcellos said he planted blocks of olive trees several years ago because of the crop’s profitability and its ability to withstand reduced irrigation.
Strong demand for all meat lifts lamb prices higher
Increasing demand for lamb, possibly driven in part by consumers seeking alternatives to beef amid record-high prices, has led to higher earnings this fall for lamb producers. The national lamb-slaughter value—or the price that producers receive for a lamb before processing—topped $2.25 per pound in the third quarter compared to about $1.70 in the first half of 2025. “When beef becomes expensive, some consumers switch to lamb, boosting its demand and, in turn, its price,” said Megan Wortman, executive director of the Colorado-based American Lamb Board. “However, lamb prices are more directly influenced by factors like its own supply and demand dynamics, the higher cost of production and seasonal patterns.”
Purple sweet potato varieties gain interest, acreage
Most sweet potatoes are yellow or orange, but purple varieties are gaining in popularity. Five years ago, a few growers were dabbling in the purple root vegetable. Now about 1,000 acres are being grown in the Golden State, according to Scott Stoddard, University of California Cooperative Extension farm adviser in Merced County. California produces about 25% of U.S.-grown sweet potatoes, with most of them grown in Merced, Stanislaus and Kern counties. During the past five years, California plantings shrank from more than 21,000 acres to about 18,000 acres as sweet potato sales slumped, prices stagnated and production costs climbed for the labor-intensive crop. There is hope that improved varieties could turn the sector around.
Kaweah Subbasin taken off groundwater probation list
The Kaweah Subbasin was formally taken off the list of California groundwater basins slated for state intervention following a unanimous vote Dec. 2 by the California State Water Resources Control Board. Farmers and communities in the subbasin, which lies primarily in Tulare County, faced the possibility of state regulators imposing measures to curtail groundwater pumping in the region. But recent efforts by local farmers and water managers to work toward groundwater sustainability—detailed earlier this year in Ag Alert®—convinced the water board to leave the Kaweah Subbasin under local control. “Kaweah’s groundwater agencies embraced transparent collaboration with the board, their communities, groundwater pumpers and each other to work out a path to planned sustainability,” board chair E. Joaquin Esquivel said in a press release. “This approach made all the difference for their subbasin in this process.”
For more information about any story in Food and Farm News, contact the California Farm Bureau Marketing/Communications Division at 916-561-5550 or email news@cfbf.com. Connect with us on Facebook, X, or Instagram: @CAFarmBureau.
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