– In the 25 years I have left behind as a farmer, I have never experienced a summer with so much rainfall, says county manager of the Norwegian Farmers’ Association, Konrad Kongshaug. At Skarset in Hustadvika, the farmers are well aware that it has been wet. The cows wade in mud up to their knees. The tractor is waiting. GJØRMETE: Farmer Hilde Kjersem Kolberg hopes they will get a better second than the first this year. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news – It’s sad to see what it looks like here now. It is usually dry and nice, says farmer Hilde Kjersem Kolberg. And when the sun rarely shines, they don’t set aside time for a siesta. Then it’s full throttle to do as much as possible during the day. Nevertheless, there are 40 goals that have not been taken during the first game at Romsdalsgarden. Usually, the first mowing is finished at the beginning of July at the latest. This is where the farmers have not had the first mowing yet. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news – Not having finished the first mowing, when we had actually started the second mowing at this time, is very special, says Kolberg. Heat records in Northern Norway have rarely been wetter, a historically warm summer in Great Britain, drought in Southern Norway and great conditions in the East. One could have thought the Northwest was an enclave where all the rain stayed. It has not been such a wet summer in several decades in parts of Møre and Romsdal. The cows have had to accept that there are wet conditions this year. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news The measuring station Eide in Nordmøre has so far measured 285.3 millimeters of rain in July. Only in 1952 and 1971 did the measuring station show a higher amount of precipitation. Then with respectively 298 and 285.5 mm of rain. – The rainfall amounts are due to the low pressure from the west, which has almost never taken a break this year. That’s why there has been a lot of “pissing rain” in central Norway, explains state meteorologist Pernille Borander. But in the east of the country, the situation is different. It has been 15 years since farmers could celebrate such a perfect summer. – The mountain ranges have a lot to say about the weather situation between east and west being so different. Additional burden for a burdened industry Hilde’s father, Harald Oscar Kjersem, has run the farm since 1991, and has been used to a lot of rain in the North West. – But this year is special. We haven’t had any dry spells. Hilde Kjersem Kolberg, Harald Oscar Kjersem and Thomas Kolberg run the farm as a team. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news When the field is wet, you should not do soil work. This can lead to long-term damage to the soil. Konrad Kongshaug is afraid that the critical situation could become a crisis if the weather does not turn around. – Then there will be consequences for next year’s crops, too. The county league leader in Norway’s Farmers’ Association, Konrad Kongshaug, would rather have it a little too dry as in Agder, than as wet as this year. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news In addition to worse crops next year, this year’s production may be so bad that farmers have to buy concentrate from outside. It can be a heavy cost for farmers who are already struggling financially. – I am concerned that this places an additional burden on an industry that has long struggled with weak finances. The development worries me, says Kongshaug. Take the situation with a smile With 280 cattle to look after, of which 60 are dairy cows, Hilde Kjersem Kolberg takes it easy, even if they are not up to the mark of the first cut. The farmers look at their poor animals. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news – Do they have hope that it will go well then? – We are optimists, so we hope that there will be high pressure here and that everything will go well.
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The third wettest summer since the 1950s is causing problems for farmers
