– It’s almost a bit romantic here, laughs farmer Jon Lea as he walks through his field. The halibut shaft that almost dances in the summer breeze will, according to the plan, be turned into thousands of loaves of bread. If it works. Because this is a risky sport when you live in Rogaland. – Grain on Jæren is a bit of a risk, but the worst that can happen is that it becomes feed grain for cows. It also turns into food, because you get milk and meat, says Lea. UNUSUAL SIGHT: In this part of the country, not many people grow food grains. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news War and drought in Europe Summers in this part of the country often bring a lot of rainfall and low temperatures. Not as good conditions as in Austlandet. The farmer at Varhaug in Hå municipality still has faith in halibut. HAS FAITH: Jon Lea has faith in food grains in Rogaland. Either way, there will be food. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news It is no coincidence that he has chosen to bet this year. The consequences of the war in Ukraine and drought in southern Europe mean that he feels a moral responsibility. – The world needs food, and there is a grain shortage. This area has the potential to yield 80 tonnes of food grains, and that makes quite a lot of bread. Then we avoid buying it in front of someone who needs that bread somewhere else in the world, he says. The government wants more people to grow food grain There are already many grain fields in the food county Rogaland, but this is mostly barley that is used for concentrate. Now the government wants more people to grow food grains. Therefore, they gave more money to the producers in this year’s agricultural statement when the target price increased from NOK 380 to NOK 480 per hundred kilos. – If you close, there is more money in halibut than barley. After all, money is a motivator, and the ethical aspect of producing food grain on Jæren I think many people are interested in, says Arne Vagle in Norwegian Agricultural Advisory. MANY WANT TO: Arne Vagle in Norsk Landbruksrådgivning is contacted by several people who want to try growing food grains. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news The government wants 90 percent of the food grain to be Norwegian by 2030. – If we go back 50 years, almost all the food wheat used in Norway was imported. Until today’s situation, where the lion’s share is produced in Norway, a quiet revolution has taken place that the Norwegian grain industry has every reason to be proud of, writes Agriculture and Food Minister Sandra Borch (Sp) in an e-mail to news. Minister of Agriculture and Food Sandra Borch (Sp). Photo: Torbjørn Tandberg Lea has faith She thinks it is positive that Lea at Varhaug wants to grow edible halibut, but says Norwegian agriculture is largely based on producing what suits the best in the various parts of the country. – This will mean grain in the East and in Trøndelag, and grass and livestock in the West, the valleys in the East and in Northern Norway. In sum, this provides the best utilization of the opportunities we have for food production in Norway, and thus also the degree of self-sufficiency, writes Borch. Vagle in Norsk Landbruksrådgivning has given farmer Lea advice along the way. – If this is successful, more people will want to join. I received a phone call the other day from someone who wondered if he should grow more grain, says Vagle. Farmer Jon Lea at least has faith. – Jærsk food grain. It would have been tough, he says.
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The world needs food. So farmer Jon Lea invests in growing grain in risk areas – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
