2020 NYIOOC BEST OLIVE OILS OF THE WORLD AWARD

Georgia… the new Mediterranean of the United States

“Seeing the trees bring fruit and winning this prestigious Award [NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition Silver Award] is extremely humbling. This recognition provides the incentive to continue our expansions and market awareness of our product.” – Curtis Poling

by David Avery

In the last couple of decades a handful of innovative growers have introduced the art of producing olives to South Georgia. Among those individuals are Curtis and Tracy Poling of Tattnall County. In 2011 Tracy’s father passed away leaving her with 300 acres of land in the county that consisted mostly of long leaf and slash pines. In 2014 Curtis inquired of his wife what her thoughts were about selling their home in Brunswick and relocating to the farm. Obviously, she was open to the idea but they both were not exactly sure what they wanted to do with the land other than just grow pines… This brought on several years of research on their part that resulted in the decision to plant olive trees and get into the business of olive oil production.

Part of this research revealed that over one billion olive trees grow on 6 of the 7 continents. Some of those places include Spain, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Argentina, Australia and the United States to name a few. They discovered that 139 olive varieties (cultivars) that are grown in 23 different countries account for roughly 85% of the world’s olive production. Surprisingly, 90% of the olives being harvested worldwide are being used for oil production. The remaining 10% are processed as table olives. It is this 10% that piqued the interest of the Curtis and Tracy. 

When looking at soil and climate requirements, they discovered that, of course, olive trees originated from a dry, subtropical climate and are well-suited to extreme environmental conditions such as drought and high temperatures as we have in South Georgia. While the olive trees require aerated soil, they can adapt to a wide range of different soil types.

Interestingly enough olive trees can live hundreds of years and on up into thousands of years. The oldest know are 16 trees located in Lebanon near Bechealeh who are estimated to be 6,000 years old. History buffs will appreciate that they are claimed to be the source of the olive branch brought by the dove back to Noah heralding the end of the flood. At an altitude of 1300 meters, they are the highest planted olive trees. They still produce olives that are cold pressed to give an olive oil of extraordinary quality. The first trees in Georgia were planted on St. Catherine’s Island by the Spanish and further south on St Simons Island and Cumberland Island and are some 200 hundred years old.

When it got down to the business of selecting the variety of trees from the many that exist, they decided upon Arbequina from Spain. They are known for their good tasting fruit as well as producing a good quality olive oil. They are also looking at testing others such as Arbonsana and Tosca from Spain, Salonenque and Tanche from France, Barouni from Tunisia and Lucca from California. Their trees were produced from cuttings from proven varietals since trees from seedlings do not produce fruit. 

The Poling’s Woodpecker Trail Farm consists of almost 300 acres with 14 acres presently planted in olive trees with an additional thirty acres reserved for future varietals. Initially they started with 726 trees but backed it down to 226 trees per acre with 12-13’ width rows. They are presently harvesting for 2020.

It is necessary to track fertilization closely which is done by collecting leaf samples as a guide. They constantly track levels of boron, potash and calcium. Nitrogen is introduced as needed utilizing water soluble/fertigation 20 20 20. Trees need 12-20 gallons of water a week. They utilize a pressure balanced drip system with 18-24 inch spacing for emitters. Additionally they add flush valves to each line keeping the drip system clear of air pockets and debris. They selectively prune (remove unwanted branches) the trees to improve the tree’s structure and direct new, healthy growth. 

There was certainly excitement in the air in September of 2019 as the couple harvested their first crop of olives. The trees produced one crop of fruit per year in September and October. The couple faced many unknowns in their pursuit since olive production was so new to Georgia and in particular Southeast Georgia. They focused on a good balance of tree nutrition and the water delivery drip system. 

The output of fruit per acre varies because of a variety of factors. In the case of the Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm since they are in the business of producing quality oils for consumption, they are more concerned with quality rather than quantity. 

Their olive oil is cold pressed from harvested olives within hours of harvest. This means they move quickly keeping the olives climate controlled for 24 hours before pressing. Olive oil must have an ultra violet absorbency measurement of less than 2.40 (UV). K232 as considered a critical marker for good quality extra virgin olive oil. Their EVOO is 1.89 UV K323 exceeding international EVOO standards. Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm olive oil always is very high quality EVOO. 

After the cold press extracts that olive oil, it is bottled immediately. They then sell their products through value added specialty stores as well as online (www.woodpeckertrailolivefarm.com). Visit their website today and place your order to support this Tattnall County phenomenon.

Awards and Recognition

Hard work and doing their homework resulted in the Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm winning a Silver Award at the prestigious NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition held each spring in New York. This was for their 2019 crop which, of course, was their very first crop. This was a feat for the Poling family to be proud of as well as all of Tattnall County!

Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm has been featured in the Georgia Trends Magazine as well as BoomAthens. The farm is also actively involved with the Woodpecker Trail Association (Highway 121). The group promote Georgia along the scenic route flowing from Augusta to the Florida line. The Polings are encouraging agritourism in the area. They wholeheartedly want to share their farm experience with others. They presently give tours of their farm and hope to encourage that in the years to come. They are hoping to organize bike rides, motorcycle rides and camping along the trail. To that end, they are partnering with a number of other entities as well as add more along the trail.

About Curtis and Tracy Poling

Curtis and Tracy reside at their farm south of southwest of Reidsville. Tracy was born and raised in Reidsville and Curtis is from West Milton, Ohio. The couple met in Atlanta, Georgia in 1992 and married in St. Croix on March 23, 2001. They have no children together but do have a Border collie named Samson that Tracy admits “rules the house.” 

Curtis has three grown children including Andrea Poling and Lisa Poling who both reside in Dallas, Texas. His son, Randy Poling, resides in Pensacola, Florida. When asked if they were any involved with the farm, the response included a little laughter along with, “No, they are city people!”

Tracy works with RCA in medical insurance follow up. She worked from home before the Covid pandemic. She has previously worked at several hospitals doing registration and scheduling and before then was involved in the import/export of meat, poultry and peanuts. 

Curtis currently serves as CEO and founder of CN Global Partners based on St. Simons Island. He travels extensively between the United States and Korea. He has been the subject of various news releases including Korean Herald, Forbes and US affiliate publications. He also enjoys strategic relations and networking within the visa immigration agency community and various immigration employment based project consultation. 

When it comes to growing olives, our state is giving Spain and Italy a run for the money. A new crop for Georgia within the last decade, olives are starting to take off with about 7,000 acres of trees growing in south-to-mid-Georgia and along the coast, according to Georgia Olive Growers Association executive director, Vicki Hughes.

Curtis and Tracy Poling decided in 2014 to get into the olive game after doing extensive research that indicated the state would be a good environment in which to grow the crop. The trees they planted at Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm in Tattnall County bore their first harvest last fall. The Polings bottled the oil and submitted it to the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world’s largest and most prestigious quality contest. A couple of months ago, they found out their extra virgin olive oil won a 2020 silver award in their category, taking its place among the world’s best oils. 

American producers took home a record-high 56 Gold and 18 Silver Awards at the world's premier olive oil quality competition. Only Spanish and Italian producers received more.

 Pamela Marvel, of Grumpy Goats Farm May. 18, 2020 By Daniel Dawson 

While the vast majority of American winners at the NYIOOC were California producers, two Golds and three Silvers were awarded to olive oil makers from outside of the Golden State.

Among these producers was Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm. The southern Georgian producer earned a Silver Award for its medium Arbequina.

“This is our first entry, from our first press, which makes this Silver award even more impressive,” CEO Curtis Poling, who runs the farm with his wife, Tracy, said. “We are very excited that our extra virgin olive oil lived up to our expectations.”

Poling said that producing olive oil in Georgia brings with it a unique set of problems, ones not faced as often by producers in California or Texas.

“Georgia is still working on getting a larger part of the extra virgin olive oil market,” he said. “We have different soil and weather conditions. A particular challenge in South Georgia is dealing with the heat and humidity.”

However, Poling and his wife believe this year’s award will help put Georgia on the world olive oil map and bring them some international attention.

“I believe that this prestigious award will bring much desired attention to our brand Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm and the historic Woodpecker Trail Route (Highway 121), which is where we are located,” Poling said.  https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/reviews/record-wins-for-american-producers-at-world-olive-oil-competition/81564 

 More articles on:  #NYIOOCWorld2020, California olive oil, NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition  

 We are so excited! We were just announced as a Silver Award for the Best Olive Oil of the World by the NYIOOC Judges live a few minutes ago May 11 2020.  Tasting Sensations -Ripe Olives Cocoa Almond Walnut Almond. We are humbled. 

The 2019 harvest was challenging for many producers in many regions. Can you tell us about some of the challenges you faced?

Establishing best mix of nutrition, water and tree varietals mix is pioneering for us in Georgia US. There are many unknowns. We continue to add new varieties of trees. Balance of water has been a challenge considering our higher humidity. We keep close watch over the the orchard daily. We think history will be kind to our efforts.

How do you feel after winning at the NYIOOC? What does this mean for you and your company?

The efforts of our family past and present heritage on this land and our friends encouragements, local supporters continue to drive us. Seeing the trees bring fruit and win this prestigious best olive oil of worlds award is extremely humbling. This recognition provides the incentive to continue our expansions and market awareness of our product.

The best herbs for anti -Viral include the olive leaf.

Herbs that have strong anti-viral properties may also protect against cytokine storms.A cytokine storm can both sicken and kill patients who are infected with certain strains of flu virus.
The best herbs with anti-viral and anti-bacterial protection are the following; elderberries, olive leaf extract, garlic, Echinacea and Oregano (oil of oregano). Olive leaf tea is available in our online store.    #iamgeorgiagrown #georgiagrown #oliveoil #sustainability

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