Many growers have already finished picking for the season and are now in the process of making oil, while others are waiting for that ideal time to begin.

At Pomonal’s Red Rock Olives, owner and operator David Margetson said he was very positive about the harvest.

“We are on 18 hectares here and have about 5000 trees,” he said.

“We mainly grow Manzanilla and Frantoio olive varieties, and have eight all up.”

Mr Margetson said the grove was in the middle of picking.

“We’re hoping to start our last table fruit this week, while our oil fruits have been finished for two weeks,” he said.

“The quality has been excellent, but the volume has been disappointing; so we’re expecting a smaller volume this year. That could be because it was frosty when the trees were flowering, and it’s also been a dry summer.”

Red Rock’s table olives are processed on site, while oil is pressed at Grampians Olive Company.

At Laharum Grove, Laharum, picking is expected to start this week.

Grove owner and operator Deirdre Baum said everything was “looking positive” at the moment.

With 20 olive varieties grown at the grove, there is a lot of work ahead for pickers.

“All our olive varieties all go into the one special olive oil,” she said.

“We get our oil pressed next door at the Grampians Olive Company.”

Mount Zero Olive Grove is located at the foothills of the Grampians on 86 hectares. Olive grove co-owner Neil Seymour said there were about 7000 trees at the grove.

“We mainly grow Manzanilla and Gordal olives,” he said.

“It’s all looking very positive and hopefully we will have a reasonable season. We’re had very positive sales of the oil here and online.”

Mount Zero products are sold all around Australia.

“Our oil is used in restaurants, and is sold at delis and grocery stores,” he said.

“We have a wide range of products, so it’s not just oil. We also do cereals, soup mixes and dukkah, and have a skin care range.”

Picking at the grove for this season was finished last Thursday.