Bjørn Inge Ruset got a fraction of the fear he hoped for – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio

– Usually this is a good garden, but it wasn’t this year, says Ruset. He stands in one of his plum orchards at Linge in Indre Sunnmøre between 80-90 trees. In total, he found 19 plums this autumn. – And then I picked everything I could find, and not everything was equally good. It was very bad, says Ruset. In total, around a thousand Norwegian farmers have applied to the Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture for compensation for failing crops this year. Last year, just under 500 came in. Leave it alone. This is how it should be in the autumn, but this was also the case this summer, when the trees at Ruset were actually supposed to be heavy with fruit. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Dry and dry The problem for fruit farmers in North-West Norway was cold. After a few days of heat and eager pollination by the bees, his plum tree blossomed as usual. But then came a cold spell that ruined everything. – There was no fruit from it, in any case very much less than what is usual. Barely one percent, says Ruset. Cold for the fruit farmers and a lot of rain for those who work with animals and vegetables – this was the recipe for poor crops in the west and in the north. In Austlandet, it was hot and dry which meant that the farmers received less in the house than expected, says Grete Mari Sand, senior adviser in the Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture. – There are more applicants this year than last year. And of course this is a subsidy scheme that varies a lot from year to year, because it depends on the climate, says Sand. In other words, the whole of Norway was warmer than usual this year. Of the places where agriculture is practiced, it was so hot and dry in the east and inland that they got poorer crops. Illustration: SeNorge / NVE The scheme has a framework of NOK 92 million. How much is paid depends on how many apply. Despite an increase this year, it is a long way from the drought year of 2018, when Norwegian farmers were paid NOK 1.6 billion. Ruset emphasizes that it was not the bees on the farm who failed when the plums were destroyed – they did their job. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Fingers crossed for next year In a good year, Ruset gets up to four tonnes of plums. Last year, which was a bad year, he got around three tonnes. This year he gained 90 kilos. The bad conditions also affected the neighboring orchards that also grow fruit. – It is good that such crop damage schemes exist. I think there are several people here in the village who apply for it. It seems that it is difficult from time to time, and then you have to have some assistance, he says. But he does not lose heart. Despite the fact that the apple was also affected, both by the cold and rowanberry moth, they fared better. – We have to cross our fingers and bet on a better season next year, says Ruset. Next year, Bjørn Inge Ruset hopes for a little more than 19 plums from his garden – as long as the weather is on the team. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news



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