Who is Belle and Bug Farms?

Belle and Bug Farms is owned and operated by Patrick and Kate Smith. You can read more about us on the About page.

Where is the farm located?

Belle and Bug Farms is just a few miles outside of the town of Orland, California—about 90 minutes north of Sacramento and 25 minutes west of Chico.

Is your olive oil first cold-pressed?

Absolutely. We strive to produce the freshest and healthiest olive oil that we can. Our olives are hand-picked and milled within 24 hours to achieve maximum freshness, flavor, and shelf stability, as well as maintaining the numerous health benefits that fresh olive oil provides.

Is your olive oil certified extra virgin?

Yes. Every year, our olive gets certified extra-virgin through the California Olive Oil Commission (COOC). The process involves submitting a fresh sample to an approved testing lab for chemical analysis to ensure quality and purity. We post these chemical analysis results on our product pages so you can see exactly what you are getting. After the lab has approved our oil, we submit a sample to COOC for sensory panel analysis, which involves a group of expert tasters evaluating the flavor of the oil to ensure it meets current California standards. Buying certified extra-virgin California olive oil means you are getting some of the highest quality olive oil in the world!

Are you certified organic?

At this time, it is cost-prohibitive for us to obtain organic certification due to the small scale of our farm. However, we do use organic growing methods, with our main focus on regenerative agriculture practices. This approach involves mowing weeds instead of spraying them and using compost instead of synthetic fertilizers. You can read more about that here.

Do you do your own olive milling?

To date, we have used a variety of local mills to produce our delicious olive oil. However, if everything goes to plan, starting Fall 2025, we will have our own mill up and running on site to produce the freshest olive oil possible. We have an Enorossi Oliomatic 700 produced in Italy. We are very excited to be able to control every step of the process to make our olive oil truly direct from our farm to your table!

What variety of olives do you grow?

We currently have about 150 Sevillano olive trees that produce our delicate and delicious olive oil. These beautiful trees are about 70 years old, and if they could talk, they would have much to tell. We have also planted 120 Ascolano olive trees, as Ascolano also makes delicious oil in the delicate range. We hope to begin harvesting from these by the end of 2026. As we expand, we plan to plant a few other varieties, such as Frantoio, Coratina, and Taggiasca, to be able to provide a more robust oil for the customers who prefer a delicious kick of spice.

Do you offer farm tours?

Not officially. Between work, kids, and school, we don’t have a lot of extra time. However, if arranged ahead of time, during an on-farm pickup of your order, we might be able to make something work.

How big is the farm?

Belle and Bug Farms began as 8 acres of an overgrown and abandoned orchard surrounded by olive trees. Recently, we were fortunate enough that we were able to purchase a neighboring property from some good friends, expanding our operation by another 18 acres of cattle pasture. The property also came with two cows—Red and PeeWee. This is where we plan to add ~5 acres of olive trees, while keeping enough ground to still graze several cows and whatever other critters we begin to accumulate.

How long have you had it?

We bought our first property in 2016. There were no buildings or improvements; at the time, it was referred to as ‘the jungle’ by the neighbors. Originally, it had been a navel orange orchard with a perimeter of olive trees. However, in the twenty years before we purchased it, the land had been abandoned and was so overgrown we couldn’t step more than ten feet onto the property. Fifteen feet tall blackberry bushes, wild fig trees, oak trees, pecans, mulberries, and a fair bit of poison oak had choked out all but about a dozen of the navel orange trees. As we began clearing the property, we saved as many of the orange trees as we could and kept the oak trees, a handful of fig trees, and nearly forty of the volunteer pecan trees.

When did you move onto the property?

We finished building our house and moved in in the spring of 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. After four years of dreaming about living on our land, it finally happened, and we couldn’t have been happier to be quarantined on our little slice of heaven.

What do you grow?

Everything? Seriously, we have tried growing almost everything you can think of out here. Our climate, our soil, and a dependable water source from the Orland Water Users Association, which comes from the eastern slopes of the coastal range and the Mendocino National Forest, together provide a near-perfect growing environment. Our climate is classified as Mediterranean, which is one of the reasons why olives thrive here. We also grow figs, walnuts, pecans, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, blueberries, strawberries, boysenberries, grapes, saffron, and a plethora of flowers.

Do you have a farm stand?

We do not have a farm stand at the moment; however, it is on the to-do list for 2025. Stay tuned!