"The wine crush in Suisun Valley has been over for a few weeks now. But the harvest season is just getting underway for olives." That was the opening of a Daily Republic report in October 2024. It described Il Fiorello Olive Oil Co. picking its first fruit on Oct. 8 and starting its mill a week later.

The valley's two harvests differ in more than timing. A grape can wait a little at the crush pad. An olive bound for oil has about a day. Il Fiorello's 2026 community milling rules say olives must be picked no more than 24 hours before drop-off. That one rule matters more than anything else for anyone with a tree or two over the back fence. It means the oil you take home depends on planning the weekend around the mill's calendar. The size of your crop matters much less.

A crop that keeps growing, unevenly

Olives are a small crop in Solano County, but the acreage is growing. The Solano County 2025 Crop and Livestock Report lists 600 harvested acres of olives for the 2025 crop year, up from 438 acres in 2024. Total production rose from 1,880 tons to 2,260 tons.

The per-acre figures show the crop's natural rhythm. Yield fell from 4.29 tons per acre in 2024 to 3.77 in 2025. The value per ton dropped from $800 to $670, and the county bases that value on oil. Total crop value still edged up, from $1,502,000 to $1,597,000. One more year makes the pattern clearer. The Daily Republic's 2024 story put the 2023 harvest at 419 acres and 560 tons. Ann Sievers, who started Il Fiorello with her husband Mark in 2007, said that year: "Olives are alternate bearing, so this year is going to be bigger." The 2024 county figure did come in far higher.

So countywide, the swings between heavy and light years show up even as more acres come into production. A backyard tree follows the same pattern on a smaller scale.

What 2026 is likely to bring, and what nobody knows yet

Going by the usual rhythm, a lighter 2025 points to a heavier 2026. The weather this spring makes that less certain. UC guidance notes that bad weather at bloom can disrupt or reset the alternate-bearing cycle. One Northern California grower, writing for American Olive Farmer on Oct. 11, 2026, described an unusually early bloom and rain, mist and wind during flowering and fruit set, followed by a relatively mild summer. The author said these observations cover only a small part of the region's acreage.

The only formal 2026 forecast covers a different product. In July 2026, USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service projected 34,000 tons of California table olives. That is 23% below 2025's 43,912 tons, and USDA cited rain and hail during fruit set. Table olives and oil olives are separate crops, so that number says little about oil fruit. Your own tree is the best guide to how 2026 turned out.

The mill that takes a single tree's worth

Il Fiorello's mill sits at 2625 Mankas Corner Road. The Daily Republic called the company the largest grower and miller in Solano County. Il Fiorello describes its continuous mill as built to its specifications by Gruppo Pieralisi. It uses a closed, two-phase extraction process with a decanter and a separator, and the company says it is one of only about 50 olive mills in the United States. The company also says the mill can process five tons of olives an hour.

A machine that size could not run a few buckets of fruit by itself, so Il Fiorello's milling services page splits growers into two groups. Anyone with 1,000 pounds or more books a private custom milling. Anyone with less joins a community run. That page invites everyone from "backyard growers with one tree" to owners of small groves.

The Suisun Valley events calendar lists the October session on Oct. 17. Il Fiorello's own flyer and milling page both give Sunday, Oct. 18. Go by the mill's date, and confirm it when you call ahead.

How the pooled run works

Your fruit isn't pressed separately. According to the 2026 community milling flyer, the steps are:

1. Il Fiorello weighs your olives and subtracts the weight of your container.
2. All the community olives are milled together in one run.
3. You get back oil in proportion to your share of the total fruit weight.
4. The oil is bottled in new containers. The mill doesn't accept containers brought from home.

Milling costs $0.80 per pound of olives. Containers cost $5 for one gallon or $20 for five gallons. There is no minimum quantity, and every variety is accepted. For example, 40 pounds of fruit costs $32 to mill, plus the container. Because everyone's olives go in together, the oil you take home is a blend of the valley's backyard fruit. The milling page describes it as joining others from around the greater Bay Area "to create a unique fresh olive oil blend."

Why the clock matters so much

The 24-hour rule exists because the fruit spoils quickly. The flyer warns that olives left in the sun can start to ferment and spoil the oil. It asks growers to keep picked fruit cool. Haul olives in tubs, grower's buckets, crates or laundry baskets, not paper or plastic bags. Fruit picked up off the ground is not accepted. The mill makes the final call on whether a batch is healthy enough to press.

Olive fruit fly is the other reason. UC Integrated Pest Management says the fly is found throughout California's olive-growing areas and damages backyard fruit as well as commercial crops. Its larvae can cause rot and lower oil quality. UC IPM's grower guidance says to harvest early enough to avoid rot and to press infested fruit within 24 hours, or hold it in cold storage. That matches the mill's rule.

Cleanup at home is part of the same guidance. The flyer asks growers to put fly-damaged olives in the trash rather than leave them on the ground, since they can spread the pest. UC IPM's home-garden guidance adds that fruit left on the tree or the ground after harvest can keep the fly going. It recommends mulching or mowing unused fruit, or burying it at least four inches deep. If your neighbors' trees are also headed to the mill, everyone's cleanup helps next year's crop.

Put together, these rules set the schedule for a mill day. Pick on Saturday afternoon or early Sunday, keep the fruit shaded, and arrive close to 9 a.m. The flyer says the mill prefers olives to come in as early as possible. Il Fiorello asks community growers to call ahead with an estimate of how much they're bringing, at 707-864-1529 or [email protected]. Its milling page says appointments should be confirmed in advance.

Sunday, October 18, hour by hour

Your morning at the mill lines up with the rest of the valley's Sunday. Breakfast refreshments are set out at the Visitor Center entrance from 9 to 11 a.m. for growers dropping off fruit. The milling page suggests staying for lunch at the Bistro. Il Fiorello lists bistro seating from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., visitor center hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and tastings at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

That afternoon, at 4756 Suisun Valley Road, Wooden Valley Winery hosts its Harvest Celebration from 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets are $20 and include a glass of a new release. JJ Brown is performing, food comes from Hearth & Soul Pizza and Rancho Fino Cocina Mexicana, and Shell's Sweets is bringing dessert. The event is part of Come Over October, a national campaign that invites people to gather with friends and family over wine during October. It started in 2024, so this is its third year.

If you'd rather end the day somewhere with kids, the Western Railway Museum at 5848 State Highway 12 runs its Pumpkin Patch Festival on Oct. 17 and 18 and again on Oct. 24 and 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Trains run out to Gum Grove Farm, and there's pumpkin chucking, a hay fort, a zipline, tractor rides and a petting zoo. The following Friday, Oct. 23, is oil pickup day at the mill, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

At the end of the month, Village 360 hosts Boots & Boos, a costumed line-dancing night with a costume contest. It runs Oct. 30 from 7 to 9 p.m., entry is free, no sign-up is needed, and it's for ages 16 and up.

If your tree isn't ready by October

The November session gives late fruit a second chance. Drop-off is Sunday, Nov. 22, from 9 a.m. to noon, and oil is ready on Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving. The milling page says growers can bring fruit to the October run, the November run, or both. You could pick the ripest fruit for October and leave the rest on the tree until November. The 24-hour limit applies to each trip.

Here at Kathleen Leonard Team, we enjoy following Suisun Valley's quieter harvests. If your property has an olive grove, a few old trees, or room to plant them, and you'd like to know what that land means for a future sale or purchase, request a private Wine Country consultation. We're always glad to walk the rows with you.