Under the watchful gaze of Mount Zero, on the edge of Victoria’s Grampians National Park, sit 6000 Spanish Manzanilla and Gordal Olive trees. The grove—Mount Zero Olives—is sustainably farmed and harvested to supply customers across Victoria. We asked Richard Seymour about this thriving, family-owned business.

What led your parents to purchase the rundown olive grove back in 1993?
They were looking for a ‘treechange’; my father had grown up in rural areas and he missed the pace of life and connection to the earth when farming.

Where did you start?
Once the grove had been restored and bio-dynamic certification had been obtained, it was about creating sales channels for the product. We utilised Melbourne’s farmers markets to connect directly with the consumer and grew our market from there. Through some tough drought years we decided the business needed to diversify to survive. This prompted us to look around our local region for other product opportunities. We found amazing quality lentils and grains and eventually partnered with our local indigenous land council (Barengi Gadjin Land Council) to harvest local pink lake salt—a favourite of our bakery customers.

How did your collaboration with the Barengi Gadjin Land Council come about?
The pink lake in Dimboola seemed like a good option to diversify our product lines, but it sits on crown land. We decided to approach the Barengi Gadjin Land Council to create a joint pitch to harvest the lake. This partnership provides funds and employment to the local land council and indigenous people in the region.

What does hand harvesting the lake entail?
We harvest with shovels, removing the top layer as to not harvest any salt with dust particles, and fill 20kg baskets. We then push the harvested salt to the bank of the lake to transport and process (dry) in Melbourne. We are 100 per cent invested in maintaining the integrity of the resource, so there is no mechanised equipment used in the harvest on the lake.

What makes MOUNT ZERO olives so special?
Olives are one of the world’s first cultivated foods (approximately 6000 years ago) and I don’t think they’ve lost their appeal. The life that the olive tree provides for humanity is quite amazing. We harvest table olives that we cure naturally in brine, we press for extra virgin olive oil and we’ve recently begun harvesting the young olive leaves for a beautiful olive leaf tea. We also have a skincare brand called The Girl and the Olive, which utilises the protective and regenerative effects of olive oil to the skin.

Tell us about your organic farming practices:
We farm bio-dynamically; it’s about creating a balanced ecosystem within the farm itself. Feeding the trees from the soil hummus rather than from chemical or even natural off-farm inputs. The benefits go further than pure ecological health; we believe chemical-free farming to be an ethical decision.

What does a day at the grove entail?
It’s seasonal. If we aren’t picking (April/May/June), we are pruning and tending to trees. Other than that we have an airbnb cottage at the farm and my dad still comes down to the weekly farmers markets.

What have been some of the challenges over the years?
Drought and convincing consumers that quality is worth paying that little bit more for. We can’t control drought but we’ve made some great progress on the latter. I’d like to say thanks to all the bakers out there that support us—a family business that endeavours to provide the best quality produce to our customers. We have many great customers in Victoria and would love to chat to any local or interstate bakers that are interested in finding out more about Mount Zero Olives.