Holtsel farm marks 20 years of ice cream production

Holtsel farm in Eyjafjordur celebrated 20 years of ice cream production this summer with a weekend event featuring birthday cake, ice cream, cakes and meat sold directly from the farm, mbl.is reported.

Arna Mjoll Gudmundsdottir, Styrmir Frostason and Fjola Kim Bjornsdottir run the farm together. They are the fourth generation of the family to operate Holtsel, which has been owned by the family for more than 100 years. The farm also has a coffeehouse and sells meat directly to customers.

Arna’s parents, Gudmundur Jon Gudmundsson and Gudrun Egilsdottir, began producing ice cream 20 years ago, when Arna was a teenager working on the farm. They opened the ice cream shop about four years later.

“We are essentially two families running the place,” Arna told Morgunbladid. She lives at the farm with her husband, Johann Egilsson, and their three daughters. Fjola and Styrmir live there with their two children, while Arna’s parents have retired and still live in town. Fjola and Styrmir moved to Holtsel six years ago to try farming for one year, but liked it so much that they never left.

Arna and Fjola manage the cowshed and ice cream production, sharing the work between them. Styrmir helps in the cowshed and focuses more on machinery, while all three work together during haymaking. The work is otherwise divided as evenly as possible.

Styrmir also works as an aircraft mechanic in Akureyri, and Johann is a carpenter who helps when needed. Arna said Johann does not want to become a farmer and dislikes the smell of the cowshed.

The ice cream shop is open during the summer and offers 24 flavours. It closes during the winter, although groups can book tastings and presentations. The ice cream is sold in shops year-round, including Hagkaup and Netto.

The coffeehouse provides space for visitors to have ice cream, cake or coffee. Holtsel also sells its own meat directly from the farm. Arna said the meat business is a relatively new and growing part of the operation, and that all the meat is sold by the farm rather than through a slaughterhouse. Meat sales help keep the business running during winter and are even more important than ice cream sales at that time.