Olives   and    sheep

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When we started researching what orchard crop would be compatible with our soil type, our climate and the decreasing availability of water in the San Joaquin Valley, we immediately turned our attention to olives. California's climate is well-suited to olives, and there is a varietal for almost every one of our state's micro-climates: southern Italian varietals for Napa and Sonoma's foggy winters and hot summers and Greek and Spanish for the hot and dry San Joaquin Valley. Having farmed in the Central Valley area for three generations, we know that overuse of the aquifer is and will continue to be problematic, while surface water supplies will be diverted for the cities. Olives are uniquely suited to our climate and soils, and there are as many ways to farm olives as there are micro-climates in California. As farmers, we are deeply concerned about the continuing loss of habitat for native species, destruction of native grasslands, and depletion of groundwater sources. We believe it is possible to achieve production and profitability while conserving our natural resources and improving our soil. When we moved our farm to the Capay Valley, we have continued to farm olives, but have had to change our methods as the orchard we farm now was already planted as a standard density orchard. The orchard is about 4 acres planted in rows 30 feet apart. Most of the trees had never been pruned and many had been eaten by deer and killed by lack of irrigation. We have systematically pruned down all the old trees and interplanted Picual and Nocellara varieties. We have also planted a double row of Koroneiki on the border of our property. We irrigate with drip, and we crop and graze the sheep in row. 


We make Tuscan style olive oil (Peacock label) which is a blend of of Frantoio, Leccino and Maurino varieties. Our orchard also has Pendolino for pollination. We still sell the olive oil from our first orchard under the Barn label. Both oils are certified organic. The California Olive Council (CCOC) is a membership organization that has recently endeavored to standardize what can actually be called "extra virgin" here in California. Much of the Italian oil marketed in California as extra virgin is actually second and third year oil sent over from Europe and Tunisia and often mixed with vegetable oils and re-bottled. While California olive oil is gaining a reputation, it still struggles in the market place, though much of what is currently available is fresher and better for you than so-called Italian oil. A law was passed giving standards for what can be labeled as extra virgin in California. It limits extra virgin labeling to oils crushed with 24 hours of harvesting, and limits the free fatty acid content.

With Casa Rosa Farms, you never have to worry about mixing, adulteration or freshness, as we grow our own olives, manage the pressing and bottling, and label ourselves. Our oil is pressed less than an hour's distance from the field and the date of pressing is hand written on each bottle. While our output in gallons is not as much as it used to be, we still enjoy growing olives. Our Tuscan blend keeps improving every year and we hope to someday press a Koroneiki single varietal again, one of our personal faves. We have honed in on our niche: making an affordable half gallon organic olive oil available to customers that want to save money. We blend oil from the last three years together to create an all purpose kitchen blend. This is what we sell in our half gallons, gallons and bulk. We also make flavor infused oils that are available in 5 flavor profiles: orange, meyer lemon, basil, garlic and chipotle. These are incredibly useful in the kitchen and are great on salads, as meat marinades, in baked goods, over roasted vegetables, and even over ice cream (lemon olive oil and vanilla ice cream) .

We are no longer certified organic by CCOF as of January 1, 2020

olive   oil  body  care

"Grown organically, harvested
with love, and made by hand for
our family... and yours."
Rachel hand makes these bath and baby products using only our own organic olive oil, herbs we grow, and beeswax from bees that live on our farm.  Every year we grow more wildflowers, sunflowers and bee friendly perennials, and the bees love it- we're now up to 96 hives from May to January-then they're off to pollinate almonds and sunflower crops for 4 months. There are no additives, exotic oils, imported waxes or anything you don't want and everything you do. We also make candles, small batch soap and other crafts from time to time. Check in on the online store to see what we have available.

Honey  Lip  Gloss

Put it in your pocket! A warm honey flavored tinted lip gloss served in a stylish tin with a sliding top. Also available as a colorless chapstick in plastic tube (no honey).

body  oil

Transport yourself to the south of France with our luxurious olive oil bath oil. Great for hair as well. Available in french lavender or California Aromas Sage.

Diaper  balm

Olivia's Mama makes her diaper balm. It's so simple. Only olive oil infused with chamomile, calendula and lavender, a little beeswax and lavender essential oil.

Hand   salve

After a long day of pruning or transplanting, our hands feel like sandpaper. We made our farmer's hand salve with chamomile and calendula to soothe and heal even the worst case of “farmer hands”.

Not Sunscreen!

While our product has not been evaluated by the FDA for its ability to block UV rays, we use it every day here on the farm. It stays on, smells like lavender, doesn't burn your eyes and has no preservatives or additives.