Olive farming

[Lavanda]

This is not strictly 'Gardens and Gardening' but we don"t have an 'Agriculture' heading:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... -spain-aoe

This is really good news, all round. There has been a huge, and positive, push in Extremadura to encourage farmers to go organic in the vineyards, olive groves and fig plantations. A farm gains organic status after seven years of not using any chemicals but the landscape is already changing with many more insects and bees plus the other wildlife as mentioned in the article, above. The old ways had some point to them and 'progress' when reliant on chemicals, is not always a good idea.

[olive]

Subject close to my heart.

Not so sure about not using herbicides, having first hand experience of weeds. Even if you use a hand sickle or strimmer or indeed a group of tyres dragged behind a tractor you still end up with “ stumps” that rip your olive nets.

However year on year we have noticed less and less wildlife except for cabra de la montessa which are doing very well.Hunting season has started and the hunters sweep across the hillsides shooting anything that moves. Then photograph their bag and then bin everything except any partridge or rabbits/ hares.

Lets hope it takes off. On a slight tangent, why havent the countries bordering the Med invested in repopulating the fish stocks? The tech works well for things like lobster, salmon.

[Lavanda]

I think people are not yet sufficiently engaged with where their food comes from and the quality of what they eat — as long as the supermarkets are well-stocked. We have longostine in our Mercadona that came from Venezuela and still might for all I know. The whole food industry needs a serious rethink ... I won't hold my breath.

Howeer, I liked the article I posted especially as Jaén is known for its olives.

[El Cid]

You think that’s bad. Venezuela is not far away. Haddock fillets from Iceland (the store) are caught in the North Atlantic, frozen and shipped to China for filleting and then back to the UK.

Sid

[Lavanda]

How is that sensible on any level?

[spanish_lad]

It's not 'sensible at all. It's just cheaper. Maybe only a few euros per 100kg.. but over 5 million tonnes.. that's a big saving.

[katy]

You think that’s bad. Venezuela is not far away. Haddock fillets from Iceland (the store) are caught in the North Atlantic, frozen and shipped to China for filleting and then back to the UK.

Sid

Wonder how they manage that when people can't get a jar of ointment from UK without tariffs

Nothing wrong with organic, just don't believe much of it is anywhere in the world whatever they claim.

[ashtondav]

I was in Tarbert Scotland a few weeks ago. Shellfish landed at the little harbour and straight on to Spanish HGVs for the trip to the Mercadona fish counter. Couldn’t find a single fishmonger in the place that sold local shellfish

[Flashman]

Interesting, I thought Brexit had bo****ed all the live shellfish exports to EU from UK?