SPAIN
Blas Lanagrán García
I am a businessman who grew up in a family of bakers and farmers.
My name is Blas Lanagran, I am a businessman who grew up in a family of bakers and farmers, a trade inherited from my paternal grandfather. My interest in the olive grove began when I was a child, when we inherited olive tree farms from my father’s and mother’s maternal family. From a very young age, I took charge of my family’s olive grove, I specialized as a professional farmer at the age of 22 and the bakery was left in charge of my sister. Over the years I increased the number of olive grove farms.
The olive variety present on the farm is the 'Picual'
Most of the trees in the olive groves are over a hundred years old. The oldest olive trees initially had 3 to 4 trunks, but with the introduction of mechanization they were adapted to 2 or 3 trunks. This greatly facilitates tillage as well as harvesting. The planting frame is variable, since the olive trees are very old and their planting did not follow a fixed pattern. Therefore, the frame of my trees is usually 8×9, which allows perfectly the growth of vegetation covers and the correct entry of machinery and vehicles for the farm’s work. The olive variety present on the farm is the ‘Picual’, which is the predominant variety in the area and gives the oils greater oxidative stability compared to other varieties, and a higher content of phenolic compounds. The irrigation system, was already installed when we acquired the olive grove, with our own water concession dating back to 1985. Subsequently, modifications were made to the system due to its age, the latest being the installation of a water storage pond at the beginning of 2021.
The olive grove is called ‘Haza de la Iglesia’.
The olive grove is called ‘Haza de la Iglesia’. It’s a farm that belonged to the Church for many years, hence its name. After the Spanish civil war, the land was bought by a farmer, who finally sold it to my family in 2002. The olive grove is located in the countryside of Jaen, with a stream that borders the land, called ‘Arroyo de Arjona’, which gives it many advantages in terms of obtaining water. It should be noted that the plot is within a priority exploitation. On the other hand, the type of soil on the plot is clayey, with a low slope, which is a positive factor when it comes to mechanization. Finally, the climate is Mediterranean, ideal for the correct cultivation of this type of plantation. With respect to the number of hectares that the olive grove has, it is 6,20 ha, with a total of 900 olive trees on the plot. As for the surrounding economy, as the olive grove belongs to the municipality of Villardompardo (Jaen), it is considered a disadvantaged area, within a sea of olive trees that has no industry of any kind, which is called an economy 100% based on the olive grove.