Grove Chat - Leafyridge 2026

by Craig Leaf-Wright, Olive Oil Maker of Leafyridge Olive Oils

July 2026

At Leafyridge Olives we have just finished another season's harvesting and processing of olives. For many groves in the Wairarapa, this year produced mixed results; most groves' volume of fruit harvested was lower than the previous year but a few fared well and produced good crops. Overall we found the average oil yield that we processed through our mill to be higher than last year which went some way to mitigating the lower volume.

Our own volume was down on 2025 but we have still produced beautiful oils across our different varieties; frantoio, leccino, picual, pendolino and koroneiki. At the time of writing we are still awaiting the certification results from Olives New Zealand which will provide information on each variety such as polyphenol, peroxide and free fatty acid levels.

This was our first year of harvesting our grove with our own new Takeuchi/SICMA mechanical harvester. This made a huge difference giving us flexibility with timing and even allowing for a second shake of the trees late in the season.

Birds (starlings) were a major issue for most groves this year and some groves actually lost the whole of their crop to them. There is no single deterrent but we employ non-lethal bird deterrents such as gas cannons, lasers (low-power visual deterrents) and farm bikes to try and keep them away. Oddly enough they focus on certain varieties and leave others alone. This year, leccino seemed to be their olive of choice - if nothing else they have good taste.

Despite all this, we persevere and yet again have our oil in tanks settling in readiness for bottling in a few weeks time. 

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