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<pre>We completed our harvest last week and the figures show again that the
crushing percentage is more important in the pub than in the account
books. We had the best crop for ten years but most growers seem to be
down - at least that is the gossip at the frantoio.
We got 150 kg from 1100 kg of olives or 13.7% while our previous
best was in 1995 when we got 122 from 654 or 18.6%. This neatly
demonstrates the 5% range that is found by research work. Our good crop
costs more to crush. At L 28,000 per 100 kg it is easy to see that the
effect is not very great - roughly 60,000 or the equivalent of 4 kg of
oil. Even if one deducts this we are 24 kg ahead.

Cheers Brian Chatterton.






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