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So excited with todays notice that Tracy Smith Poling family’s 170 year old farm known as “Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm “ will be honored by Georgia Historical Society under the Georgia Department of Community Affairs as a
"Georgia Centennial Family Farm" at the Georgia National Fair in Perry GA October 3 2024.
Latest News on the farm
So exciting! We are a feature article in top news publication The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Story by By C.W. Cameron
Check our listing in South Magazine The Spring 23 Travel & Adventure Issue. We are in the travel and adventure section #3 to visit. the story goes: Olive You (Glennville, GA)
The welcome sign to this olive farm claims to have the “World’s Best Olive Oil” and in terms of extra virgin olive oil, they might just be correct. Take a tour through 300 acres of olive groves and even learn about freshwater wildlife from the ponds on site.
Tasting the olive oil is also part of the experience. Learn how to taste olive oil (similar to wine tasting) and become familiar with the unique differences found in real extra virgin olive oil versus the oils sold at big box stores. Take home a bottle of their award-winning olive oil and wow your friends with your new knowledge! Story link
We won! The University of Georgia Flavor of Georgia 2023 contest in Athens.
UGA Food Science and Technology" would like to congratulate the winners of the Flavor of Georgia 2023 The University of Georgia Flavor of Georgia 2023 contest in Athens.
UGA Food Science and Technology“ would like to congratulate the winners of the Flavor of Georgia 2023
This year’s winners represent all corners of the state and the best of Georgia’s diverse culinary heritage.
Flavor of Georgia is an opportunity not only to showcase all that Georgia has to offer, but also to propel individuals and businesses forward as leaders in food
Our farm is excited to partner with Vanderbilt University in the upcoming credit class SPAN 1001 - Commons iSeminar - Ode to Olive Oil with Professor Lori Catanzaro and Curtis Poling this month via zoom from our farm to the classroom. The class subject including the history, mythology and symbolism of olive oil in Ancient Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome, its health benefits and role in medicine since Hippocrates, the business and production of olive oil worldwide today, its classifications and varietals, fraud and legal issues, the impact of climate change on olive cultivation globally and of course, enjoyment in cuisine.
Our focus will be on our farm's olive oil production and a sensory tasting session. The students are excited to learn this industry. I can add Professor Poling to my tales.
Thanks to Curtis @woodpeckertrailolivefarm for sharing his passion and award winning EVOO with us in today’s tasting see more:
Exciting new read about Our olive farm as feature article in March 2022 Georgia Magazine! Full story on Page 34-36 link
From a recent visit and story on our farm from the publishers "Playground Earth" an online travel publication and marketplace dedicated to exploring and sharing ideas, resources and stories from the most beautiful places on earth. Jim & Fernanda Dorsey supplied us with this awesome article. Please enjoy!
In search of Award Winning Olive Oil along the Historic Woodpecker Trail
Taking the scenic route to the Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm drivers pass miles of open farmland growing everything from soybeans and peanuts to onions and grapes. This beautiful countryside may seem like an unlikely location to grow olives yet that is exactly what the owners of this six generation, 300 acre farm in the heart of Georgia’s Magnolia Midlands are doing.
Along the scenic Woodpecker Trail in Georgia’s Magnolia Midlands lies a 300 acre, six generation plot of fertile land called the Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm. It is here that Tracy and Curtis Poling nurture 7000 olive trees and produce what is widely considered to be among the world’s finest Extra Virgin Olive Oils. read more
Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm won a Silver Award at the 2020 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.
The company employs traditional methods to produce its extra virgin olive oil from 6000 Arbequina olive trees in Georgia, United States. It won a Silver Award for its Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm medium Arbequina.
Ben Merril writer for Reflections Magazine of Richmond Hill Ga on a recent visit to our olive farm captured the essence of our story! Read and enjoy!
The ‘Tree of Life’ May be Closer Than You Think
Here’s how I heard the story: An American couple travels to Italy to enjoy the cuisine, sip the local wine, and drizzle the finest extra virgin olive oil onto freshly baked bread, still warm from the oven. They knew from years of visiting tasting rooms that Mediterranean countries produce the finest olive oil in the world, and now they were ready to experience it for themselves, first hand. As they approached the tasting counter they told the attendant: “We’ve traveled many miles and we’ve waited many years, but finally we are here and we would like to sample the best olive oil in the world.”
The attendant, not quite sure what to say, decided to tell them the truth: “I am very sorry to have to tell you this,” he said. “But if you’re looking for the best olive oil in the world, you’re going to have to travel to Georgia.”
*****
Georgia Route 121, also known as the Woodpecker Trail and one of the 50 most scenic drives in America, weaves its way from South Carolina to the Florida line, passing though gentle hills and acres of farmland. As it passes through Glennville, it grazes the eastern edge of the Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm, a 6,000 tree olive grove that produces what a growing number of chefs, foodies, and judges believe may just be one of the best tasting extra virgin olive oils on the planet.
Growing up in Reidsville, Ga., Tracy Poling enjoyed frequent visits to her grandparents’ 300-acre farm, 30 miles south in Glennville. Performing a variety of tasks on the land, she acquired an appreciation for working the land. A native of West Milton, Ohio, Curtis Poling spent summers on his grandparents farm. The two met in Atlanta and married in 2001. Moving to St. Simons in 2002, Tracy worked in medical insurance and Curtis has been CEO of CN Global Partners since 2009. When her father passed away in 2011, they pondered what to do with the land, which had been in the family since 1855. Their farm was adjacent to the Woodpecker Trail, which was established in the early 1900s and ran from Virginia to Orlando, Fla. It’s now Route 121. Extensive research included trips to olive tree farms in California, Texas and Terra Dolce in Lyons, Ga. Returning to Glennville in 2014, they cleared 14 acres and planted 4,000 Arbequina super high-density trees. In Jan. 2018, over an inch of snow was on the ground for two days with a temperature of 22 degrees. 1,600 trees were lost, four survived from their second planting in 2017. Bringing in a dozen people to harvest by hand at the end of September, they were able to put olives into a refrigerated truck within 15 minutes. Taking the fresh crop to Lyons for milling, they had a bountiful EVOO first press with over 300 cases of a flavorful oil with a peppery finish and a acidity level of .03 (The acidity level required for Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Europe is .08, in California it’s .05.). They won a silver medal in the New York International Olive Oil Conference. Curtis got word out through the internet and half their sales have been outside of Georgia. “It’s one of the most exciting things I’ve done in life,” he said. “You put something in the ground, watch it survive and then have a good harvest. We take a spoonful of oil every day.” Handling the daily operations, Curtis put in 14 miles of a drip irrigation system and bought a mower from Italy to cut down weeds. The sandy loam soil is quite conducive for growing and drains well. Using lime, he brought the pH level up to 7 from 5. Last year, they bought 300 high density trees from Spain, France and Tunisia and they now have a total of 6,000 trees. Always entrepreneurial, Tracy and Curtis took year old leaves off the branches and made olive leaf tea for purchase. They project nearly 300 orders and expect more in 2021. Olive leaf tea is the healthiest of any green tea on the market. They are one of two olive farms in the United States to make this product. https://www.savannahnow.com/news/20201028/former-state-senator-among-georgia-olive-farmers-finding-successful-harvest-this-year
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. story continues
Our Farm Makes Front Page News
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. https://www.georgiatrend.com/2020/07/06/georgia-olives-take-off/
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.
Among these producers was Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm. The southern Georgian producer earned a Silver Award for its medium Arbequina.
In the News:
Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm made news with RFD channel- "RFD-TV with a broadcast to (52 million homes), RURAL RADIO Channel 147 on SiriusXM Radio (33 million units), The Cowboy Channel (42 million homes), and RFD-TV The Magazine. RMG networks are distributed worldwide by DBS, telco and cable systems, including DISH, DIRECTV®, Comcast, AT&T U-Verse, Mediacom, Charter Spectrum, Suddenlink, Cox, and more than 600 independent rural cable systems. Exciting!
When thinking about the best olive oils in the world…places like Spain and Italy come to mind. However, there's now one operation in Georgia that can also make that claim and has the hardware to prove it. We traveled to Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm in Glennville to check out their award-winning product.
By Dal Cannady | May 18, 2020 at 6:37 PM EDT - Updated May 19 at 12:00 PM
TATTNALL COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - If each tree at Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm had a flag from its home country, the grove would look like the United Nations.
Curtis and Tracy Poling brought plats here from around the world when they introduced olives in the family timber farm.
“We were living on St. Simons and Curtis said, ‘you know, we should move back to the farm.’ I said, ‘well, what would we do,’” Tracy Poling said.
Curtis researched ideas and learned how settlers planted olives here back in the 1500's.
“The Spanish came in and planted olive trees on Cumberland, and St. Simons all the way to South Carolina,” Curtis said.
Curtis said you can blame the British for Georgia's olive crop disappearing. When they colonized, they brought their diet with them and the Mediterranean touches went away until just a few years ago.
The Polings are one of only a dozen or so olive farms in Georgia. Last fall, they pressed their first olive harvest and bottled the oil. They submitted it to international competition and picked up a silver medal in their category. They say the award helps affirm their resolve to do something others haven't.
“To put a tree in the ground, watch it grow over the years and then produce fruit.”
That experience makes them Proud to Be Farmers.
Copyright 2020 WTOC. All rights reserved.
Dal Cannady Bureau Chief of WOTC News spends a few hours here at the Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm
Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm
2437 Highway 121 Glennville GA 30427, US email: info@woodpeckertrailolivefarm.com
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REAL REVIEWS FROM REAL SHOPPERS: "Great Olive Oil: We were at a villa in Italy that has olive trees and the owner served us some recently pressed oil from her trees and it was wonderful with a fresh peppery taste. My first-time tasting Woodpecker Trail Olive Oil reminded of that oil in Italy, hard to believe it comes from South Georgia. I recommend this oil for dipping fresh sourdough or Italian bread in or serving with fresh home-grown North Georgia tomatoes in the summer. "