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| Our Farmyards. |
This project has been growing on a daily basis and already encompasses 12 farmyards along 4 different Portuguese regions and a Spanish one.
The main centers are Ferreira do Alentejo, Campo Maior, Elvas, Aviz and Badajoz.
New Olive Groves
A more in-depth knowledge of the potential of an olive tree, together with new agronomic technologies has resulted in the "New Oliviculture" and with it, the landscape of the olive groves have changed.
The Intensive olive groves have a higher density planting, usually 500 to 750 trees per acre, modern irrigation systems, namely drop by drop, and also more rational fertilization.
At the end of the 20th century a new kind of olive grove was created, the Super-Intensive. This system has much higher density, and is based in agronomic rules created for wine groves. The density varies between 3,000 and 5,000 trees per acre.
Although it requires a much higher investment up front, it enables a quicker start of production, higher productivity per acre, and mechanical harvesting, which leads to a speedier process (around 12 acres harvested per day/per machine) and reduces the need for manual labor and consequently, the overall cost.
With this new technique even the Intensive scheme benefited, for example, by the appearance of new machinery for harvesting, also 100% mechanical.
Regarding production, a Super-intensive olive grove will start production in the 3rd year after planting and can reach average annual productions of 10,000 to 12,000 Kg/há as of the 5th year. The Intensive will also start at the 3rd year but with a much lower productivity per há, reaching no more than 8,500 to 1,000 kg/há as of the 7th or 8th year.
ELAIA uses both systems due to many factors, from light to orography.
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