The D'Antilio Sustainable Agriculture company was founded in 2004 to develop a holistic model for small scale agriculture and related businesses. This means transcending organic standards and applying the concept of sustainability to all aspects of the business.
We are based in Calistoga California and have 11 acres dedicated to the production of organic olive oil and related olive products. We are closed to the public but private tours can be arranged by contacting us via email at info@dantilio.com or by phone at 707. 843.6741. We are currently growing the Italian olive varietals Frantoio and Pendelino and the Spanish varietal Arbequina. We will also be producing blends of olive oil with locally grown organic Meyer lemons and blood oranges. Our first limited harvest will be in late 2004 and full product availability will be in 2005. In the interim we have made arrangements with local organic growers to provide a market their olive oils. Please see our product page for more information.
We employ fully organic farming practices but that is just the beginning of our commitment to sustainability. For energy used in production and heating we are developing a combination of solar electricity and geothermal. The geothermal takes advantage of the many hot springs for which Calistoga is famous. And we have quite possibly the perfect location for solar with over 300 sunny days per year.
We are converting our farm equipment to run on bio-diesel which will be supplied by the self-generated lower grade waste oil from the olive pressing.
Our boxes and packaging are being developed from local organic products and by-products including olive tree trimmings, bay leaves, and sage.
Our compost and mulch is produced from the by-products of both the our olive pressing and local grape pressing operations.
But most importantly we are extending the concept of sustainability out into the community. We purposely chose olive oil production to develop a counter-cyclical industry to augment the local grape and wine production. It is our intention to help develop a year-round agricultural industry in Napa Valley to help promote worker and family stability. We also pay all full-time and seasonal workers a living wage to help develop a stable work environment and more vibrant community.
Farm land in Napa County is extremely expensive due to the wine industry. However, olive trees are much more tolerant of certain soil conditions than grapes. Olives provide a use for fallow land in the agriculturally zoned areas of the county. Developing an alternative agricultural use for properties not suitable for grape growing may assist in helping keep the Napa agricultural preserve zoning. This revolutionary zoning model used in Napa has helped maintain the agrarian lifestyle and world class wine production for which Napa is famous.
Perhaps most importantly in all these endeavors is the development of a repeatable business model to support these activities. Current agricultural and agri-business practices in the United States (and increasingly world-wide) are responsible for some of our most pressing environmental and social problems. Developing a small-scale alternative to corporate farming and it's issues is the primary goal for D'Antilio Sustainable Agriculture.
D'Antilio Sustainable Agriculture is currently organized as a for-profit (or loss as the case may be) company. We intend to explore and report on all the available resources (and barriers) for this type of operation. We will also explore other forms of organization including using non-profit status. We will also explore various aspects of partnering within the community to develop growing, production and marketing arrangements with the more established wine industry.
Finally, we realize that this is a huge undertaking and that we’re just starting and don't know very much. There are also many excellent organizations already doing what we are trying and people that know more about the different aspects of this than we could ever hope to know. We'd like to hear from anyone with ideas and inspirations. We'd especially like to hear from anyone that would like to help. Over time we hope to expand this website into a forum for everyone that wants to learn about sustainability or that wants to implement sustainable practices into their businesses and personal lives.