Intensively cropped olives in Australia's future

During olive harvest time, you'll usually see people on ladders hand picking, or shakers shaking fruit from the trees into nets below.

Producers have long sought the best and most cost effective solution for harvesting.

Well it seems the answer may lie with trellising and a grape harvester.

Natalie Oliveri visited nursery Agromillora in Walkerie, and spoke with supervisor Damien Crowe about how orchard works.

Marcello Berlanda is and olive industry consultant who travels Australia visiting olive orchards.

He says only 1 per cent or Australia's olive production for oil is cropped intensively, but in the United States, you'll find that 90 per cent of olives are cropped this way.

By Natalie Oliveri from Renmark 5341. Monday 21-06-2010