Icelandic farmers average 58 as average age declines

Icelandic farmers are 58 years old on average, and the figure has been falling slightly, mbl.is reports.

Farmers who keep cattle and work in dairy production average 54, while sheep farmers average 66, according to Jóhannes Heiðar Símonarson, chief executive of Auðhumla.

Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir said in a RÚV television interview on Monday that the average age of farmers was 66. That figure is incorrect.

She also said Icelandic agriculture would have significant opportunities within the European Union. Steinþór Logi Arnarson, chairman of the Association of Young Farmers, told Morgunblaðið that farmers’ operating conditions could certainly be better and that product prices could be higher, but said this had nothing to do with European Union membership.