Jamie Johansson, Lodestar's owner and farmer, started as a behind the scenes farmer providing the olives or oil for 10 other California olive oil companies from Santa Barbara to Mendocino. From behind the scenes, Lodestar has provided olives for 15 award winning olive oils, including one Best Of Show, at the prestigious Los Angeles County Fair's "Oils Of The World Competition". Jamie is quick to point out, "Though it was not the ‘Lodestar' name on those bottles, having your peers within an industry look to your farm for quality has its own satisfying prestige."

The resurgence in California olive oil in the early 1990's had startup oil companies rushing to secure shelf space and learning what made great oil. Similar to how the early California wine industry looked to imitate the French, the "new" California olive oil model looked to the Italians. However, the dream at Lodestar Farms was to admire the European culinary style that is origin specific, highlighting a community of farmers within a country, state and region: Balsamic vinegar - Modena, Italy; Roquefort cheese - France; Prosciutto di Parma - Italy; Jersey Royal potatoes - United Kingdom.

Lodestar is located in the Sierra Nevada Foothills of Oroville, California. It is here, more than 100 years ago, that Freda Ehmann started the modern olive industry. Since that time there has always been someone producing olive oil in the area. Surrounded by olive orchards, Oroville can lay claim to being the leading producer of California's traditional olive, the Mission. Originally planted by the Franciscan missionaries in 1775 at the San Diego Mission, Oroville now grows 75% of all the Mission olives in California. Lodestar's signature late harvested Mission olive oil highlights a true California provincial oil in a designation of origin style.