On flat Jæren, the farms are close together. The coastal landscape along the North Sea has high agricultural production. But several of the operational buildings here are no longer in use. At Øksnavad upper secondary school, the students in the first stage are well underway preparing the tractor for a shift in the field. They follow the agricultural line and hope to run their own farm one day. Kim Løkstad believes the farming profession is in the limelight, but says it can be expensive. – It quickly costs NOK 15 million to buy a farm. Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / news – I want to be a farmer. I’ve had that desire all my life, ever since I was a little kid, says Kim Løkstad. Childhood dreams can be expensive to realize Today there are almost 38,000 active farmers here in Norway. But there are fewer and fewer, show figures from the Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture (external link). – Most farmers gradually scale back and quit without us really noticing. Others quit more abruptly, often due to finances, says Ståle Hustoft, leader of the Rogaland farmers’ association. 17-year-old Løkstad is painfully aware that his childhood dream can be expensive to realize. – If you’re going to run, you have to run big, so that you actually earn something. Everything has become hugely expensive, so I understand that farmers are quitting. – But you want to start anyway? – Yes, that is the plan. So then I either have to find a noble girl or buy a farm myself, if the finances hold, he replies. Fellow student Tilde Meland (17) also wants to become a farmer. Tilde Meland says that she and some friends have considered joining a farm, if they cannot afford to buy one on their own. Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / news – It looks nice, you get a practical everyday life and you get to benefit the whole country by producing something everyone needs, she says. But like Løkstad, Meland also does not have a farm that she can take over. – If I had a farm, it would have been much easier. But I haven’t, so I’ll have to see what happens eventually. Andreas Fjermestad (17) is among the lucky ones in the class. He has an odel and is ready to continue running the family farm after he finishes school. Andreas Fjermestad is the oldest of the siblings and will take over the family farm at Orstad in Klepp. Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / news – I think it is tragic that farmers have to quit because there is no finance for it or that they do not operate large enough. At the same time, it is good that others can build on the production and operate larger, he says. Took over – chose to quit In the last 20 years, almost 25,000 Norwegian farmers have given up. The total decrease is around 50 per cent, figures from Statistics Norway show. One of them is Jens Kåre Stokka (49). A year and a half ago, he decided to stop working as a farmer. – I enjoyed being a farmer, but I don’t regret my choice, he says It’s been a long time since there were animals in the barn of former farmer Jens Kåre Stokka. Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / news Today it is 15 years since Stokka took over the family farm at Klepp. The farm, which had been run by several generations before him, was worn and badly in need of renovation. The new farmer could not afford that investment. – It will be too expensive to build a new barn. In addition, I also had to buy a larger quota and more land in order to operate economically. Agriculture has been carried out on this farm for over 200 years. In 2021, Stokka chose to get rid of his own animals and stop working as a farmer. Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / news And he is not the only one. In 2021, Nibio calculated that there was a total investment need for cattle farmers of NOK 18–23 billion in the run-up to the free-range farming requirement in 2034. – It is boring to be the one to end a long tradition. It feels like I’m failing the previous generations. At the same time, it was the right choice, he says. For the time being, Stokka does not want to sell the farm, because the hope is that the daughter will take over at some point. In the meantime, he rents out quota and land to neighbours. – Many emotions Food production in Rogaland is currently good. But the farmers’ association believes that the trend with fewer farmers is a challenge that also affects the agricultural environment. – For every farmer who quits, you have one less colleague, says Hustoft in the farmers’ team. – The farmers need better incomes and welfare schemes, says Ståle Hustoft, leader of the Rogaland farmers’ association. Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / news Until then, the quota will continue and production in Rogaland will be maintained by the farmers who remain. – But soon we will reach a limit, when farmers cannot manage more additional land further afield. At the same time, Hustoft understands that many farmers do not continue in the profession. He speaks from experience. – I stopped milk production on my own farm, and still remember the feeling when the last dairy cow disappeared from the farm. There are a lot of emotions involved and a pretty tough decision to make on behalf of the family. A few years later, life looked different for Hustoft, and he chose to start up again as a farmer. He has not regretted it. Poor economy In the last 15 years, the number of enterprises with cow’s milk has been halved in Rogaland. Many farmers have stopped growing potatoes and the interest in pig production is described as critical. – In 40 years, 3 out of 4 dairy farmers have closed their operations in Norway, says Skadberg. Photo: Odd Rune Kyllingstad / news And the trend of fewer farmers seems to continue, according to a new survey carried out by the State Administrator in Rogaland. – The survey shows that they are experiencing a bad economy, but at the same time the picture is probably more nuanced than that, says director of agriculture Geir Skadberg. As of now, there are around 4,000 active farmers in the food district. Today, two out of ten active farmers answer that there will be no operation on the farm in 15 years. – What will it mean for the food and farming county of Rogaland if more people give up? – It doesn’t have to mean that much, I mean. As long as the land is kept in operation and the farmers experience a good enough economy in production, I think we will see an active agricultural county in the coming 15 years as well, he replies.
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Since 2002, 25 farmers have stopped farming every week – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
