Kjartan Trane Skadsem hoped to get 750 kilos of barley from each hectare he was to harvest. – That’s very good. We shall be well satisfied if we manage to do it, he said as the threshing machine passed over his field. The rate afterwards was 764 kilos per hectare. It is 93 percent, almost twice as much, as the average in Norway was between 2011 and 2021. Felleskjøpet reports that farmers across large parts of the country are about to get a very good harvest. Skadsem’s harvest of barley was almost twice as large as the national average for the past few years. In total, Skadsem got close to 140,000 kilos of barley from the 180 acres he had cultivated this year. – Optimum conditions As early as July, some farmers predicted that we would get good grain crops in Norway. Because while northern Norway had the wettest summer in over a hundred years, it was in the south – where practically all the grain production is – both hot and dry, but not to the extreme. – The main picture is that it varies between what we call normally dry to very dry, says climate researcher at the Meteorological Institute Hans Olav Hygen. Geir Paulsen, who is department head for seeds in Felleskjøpet Rogaland and Agder, is very satisfied with the weather that has been in the region. Between 2011 and 2021, Norwegian farmers received an average of 395 kilos of barley per hectare of cultivated land, according to figures from Statistics Norway. Skadsem’s crop, which Paulsen is holding in his hands, was much larger. Photo: Arild Eskeland / news – We have had good relations. We have had a fair amount of rain, not too much driving rain, and so the farmers are probably good at looking after their grain. Less moisture (rain) also means less fungus. It can actually destroy large parts of the crop. – This year the conditions have been quite optimal, says Paulsen. This summer there was a big difference between the regions. In the south and east, where most of the grain is grown, there were good growing conditions. “Dry and hot is what really sums up southern Norway,” says climate researcher Hygen. Illustration: met Good crops in the “whole” country of Rogaland, where Skadsem is located, accounts for a small part of Norwegian grain production. There have been good crops in large parts of the country, says the director of agriculture in Felleskjøpet Agri to news. – The grain harvest in Austlandet has been very good, and employees at our silo facilities are in very busy working weeks, says Bjørn Stabbetorp. One of the silos in the region is already so full that feed grains have to be stored outside, something Agriculture and Food Minister Sandra Borch (Sp) says the government is working to solve. – Trøndelag got started a little late, but recent reports from there also tell of good crops, says Stabbetorp. Food grain, i.e. grain that is used as flour and food for people instead of animals, has also had a good season. Here from Varhaug on Jæren. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Makes grain more palatable The farmer at Voll had already increased his barley crop from 150 to 180 decares this year. The good results of the crop, both barley and grass, are encouragement to continue or increase the investment in grain. – It is also very easy to sell. Once you’ve harvested it, all you have to do is deliver it to the mill and you’ll be rid of it. Forage production can be good business too, but there is a little more risk of burning inside with the round bales and such, he says. Despite the fact that Rogaland today only accounts for a couple of percent of Norwegian grain production, Paulsen says that more and more people are investing in growing it. – There is a trend and interest in the country and elsewhere in the world to grow more grain, he says.
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Good grain harvest across the country – Kjartan Trane Skadsem gets almost twice as much food per hectare – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
