Farming was always something that interested Jim Henry.

When he was younger, he thought Texas would be the perfect state to grow grapes, but the experts at the time told him it was impossible, given the terrain.

More recently, he decided the Lone Star State would be perfect for olives. Again, people called it folly. This time, he refused to listen.

Henry planted orchards in Marble Falls. But the naysayers were right: The trees froze to death.

Undeterred, he moved south to Carizzo Springs where he's planted 40,000 olive trees that have led to the introduction of Texas Olive Ranch olive oil in the marketplace.

“I didn't do it to prove people wrong,” he says. “I did it because I thought we could do it, and we are.”

Henry is not alone. There are olive orchards in Elmendorf, Wimberley, Austin, Dilley and Houston, among other areas of the state. By the end of the year, he expects more than 250,000 olive trees will be planted in Texas soil. Some will be in small lots of, say, 5,000 or 6,000 trees, while Henry is planting another 100,000 and helping a neighbor plant 50,000.

Almost all of the fruit will be used for extra-virgin olive oil, which is finding its way into Central Markets, H-E-Bs and small gourmet grocers across the state.

Henry's orchards are largely planted with an olive called Arbequina, which produces an oil with a buttery quality and a peppery finish. It's a Spanish olive that has had great success in California as well as Texas, because it is both weather- and insect-resistant, he says.

Henry bottles only extra-virgin olive oil. His olives are so juicy and modern presses are so productive in what they can squeeze out of an olive that it makes no sense — or cents — to take it through a second press, he says.

Growing olives is farming, stresses Henry, a founding member of the Texas Olive Oil Council and its spokesman. It's hard work. There is no research on its success as a crop in Texas. The grower is at the mercy of Mother Nature, who isn't always merciful. Hail storms, freak freezes, drought all take their toll. And each tree takes several years to reach its full potential.

But Henry is determined to make it work.

“It's no great mystery,” he says. “It's just finding the right tree in the right climate.”

Henry likes to use his olive oil in a simple manner, much like his Mediterranean counterparts. He'll uses some to finish off bruschetta or atop fresh vegetables like cucumbers or tomatoes.A drizzle atop a bowl of fresh bean soup can hardly be beat, he says.

In an environment where you can buy olive oils from the finest farms in Crete, Greece, Italy and Spain, is there a market for a locally produced product?

“Texans are crazy about Texas-grown products,” Henry says, so there is an eager market out there. Plus, the growing locavore movement, focused on eating local foods, has helped.

“World demand for olive oil is at an all-time high,” he says. “The U.S. produces less than 1 percent of the world's olive oil supply. But we consume 20 percent. … So there's tremendous opportunity.”

As for the taste, Henry says his oil, which sells for about $15 for a 750-milliliter bottle, is comparable with other olive oils in the same price range.

“Tasting olive oil is pretty much a personal preference,” he says. “Our oil is as good as most Europeans” with a similar price.