The matter in summary: • Northern Norway has had a very good potato year, while Eastern Norway has had poor crops.• Byggmakker in Bodø gives away ten tonnes of potatoes to charities and refugee receptions.• The potatoes come from the owner’s farm on Kjerringøy.• Despite a late start due to a cold and wet spring, the summer has contributed to a good crop.• A third of the almond potato crop in Norway has been lost due to the summer’s extreme weather.• Head of grains and potatoes in Norwegian Agricultural Advisory believes that this year’s situation shows the importance of a decentralized food preparation. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Byggmakker in Bodø not only has building materials in stock, they also have pallets of potatoes which they give away to charities and refugee receptions. The reason for the potatoes is that the owner of the shop has a farm on Kjerringøy, where they grow potatoes. This year was a very good potato year, and there are therefore extra potatoes being given away. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news – When we have the opportunity to give away 10 tonnes of potatoes, it is much better to give it away to someone who needs it and can benefit from it than to have to throw it away in the end. That’s what Øystein Sjøteig, general manager at Byggmakker in Bodø, says. Leader of Nordland Bondelag, Trond Bjørkås, says that it has been a good potato season in the county. – It seems that the potato farmers in Nordland are quite satisfied with this year’s season, so to speak, says Bjørkås. Northern Norwegian potatoes may be in demand Due to extreme weather that the crops in the south have been poor. Few potatoes on the national market means that the northern Norwegian potato will be in demand, says Bjørks. But it is not only easy to get the North Norwegian paw on the market. It’s not just producing potatoes and then selling them, says Bjørkås. – You have to have contracts, so it is demanding to start production. Especially because of the market, which is controlled by three large chains. You must gain access to the large chains and deliver the volume you have signed to deliver. Trond Bjørkås, leader of Nordland Bondelag. Photo: Ole-Christian Olsen / news – If you get a much larger volume than they have envisaged and have delivery agreements, then it is not automatic that the market will be there and take it away. The green sector has no market regulator. – Each individual farmer has to make sure of the market opportunities himself and that makes it demanding to bet on green. – We need to get better market access so that we can produce more potatoes and secure sales. Had low expectations Although the potato crops have been above normal in the county, there have been some challenges. And that is exactly what the married couple Henning Andreas Holand and Dina Fonn Sætre have experienced. The couple mostly grow almond potatoes on Engeløya in Steigen. – It has been a very special season, says Holand. It started with an extremely cold and wet spring. They usually finish planting the potatoes in May. Dina Fonn Sætre and Henning Andreas Holand grow almond potatoes, golden eye and soloist. Photo: Open landscape – Expectations for this season were rock bottom. We already have a short growing season here in northern Norway. – The last time we have ever finished planting potatoes is 2 June. This year we planted the last potato on 18 June. It was an extremely late start. The growing season in Northern Norway is short, so when you come out this late there is reason for pessimism, Sætre believes. The couple thought it would be the worst season ever. But despite a bad start, the summer enabled the couple to make up for much of what was lost. Wants potato farmers throughout the country While Nordland has been lucky with the crops, things are worse further south. The summer’s extreme weather has caused a third of the almond potato crop in Norway to be lost. Sætre and Holand believe it is very important that food production is preserved throughout the country. – Our paws have a high dry matter, which means that they have little water and a lot of flavour. There is a lot of potato in the potato, which means that the quality is very good and the taste is excellent. We are very proud of that, says Sætre. Photo: Open landscape – If you collect all the production in the south and it turns out to be a bad year, you have collected all your eggs in one basket, says Sætre. Arne Vagle, head of cereals and potatoes at the Norwegian Agricultural Advisory Service, also believes that this year’s potato situation shows why it is important to have decentralized food preparedness. – It just shows how important it is to have potato production throughout the country, precisely to cover different climatic conditions and situations that arise. – I am opposed to centralizing all potato cultivation, and we will prove that now. It’s a good idea to have it bounced around the whole country. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news Vagle says that there has been great variation in production this year. – There is a large variation depending on where you live and where you grow the potatoes. There are some who have relatively decent crops and then there are some who have almost nothing. – But there are probably quite a few fewer potatoes produced this year than usual. Better weather conditions in Nordland Climate researcher at the CICERO center for climate research, Bob van Oort, says that it is normal for weather conditions to fluctuate from year to year, and it is difficult to say whether it is climate change that has led to good crops in Nordland this year. – While we have seen some drought and flooding in southern areas, the weather conditions during the growing season this year have been much better for potatoes in the northern areas. And then you get a better crop than is usual in an average year, according to van Oort. – To be able to switch to more plant-based production in Norway, you have to come in with better arrangements and various adaptations to make it possible, says van Oort. Photo: Tiril Mettesdatter Solvang / news van Oort believes it will be more important to make adaptation measures in the event of extreme weather in the future, also in the north. The climate scientist believes it is good that potatoes are grown in the north. Furthermore, he says that it is possible to grow even more vegetables, also in the north, than is done today. – Plant production is, of course, partly climate-dependent, but also dependent on other factors such as customs protection, subsidies and receipt of the products. And profitability. There are many factors that limit current plant production. Not just climate. It is important to make it easier for consumers to choose Norwegian plant-based food, van Oort believes.
ttn-69
Byggmakker gives away ten tonnes of potatoes – news Nordland
