Wet summer pushes Norwegian farmers towards costly feed bills

Norwegian farmer Per Jarle Myklebust could face an extra bill of up to 200,000 kroner after heavy rain prevented him from cutting his grass, NRK reports. In Myklebustdalen, a valley in Nordfjord, the soil is too wet for machinery, while the quality of the grass declines each day.

“We should have cut the grass at least a week ago. Now the quality is falling every day,” Myklebust said.

The protein and sugar content of the feed is also decreasing, meaning Myklebust may have to compensate with more concentrated feed. Farmers across large parts of Western Norway, as well as in Trøndelag and Northern Norway, are facing similar problems. Many also had a poor first cut of the season.

The state administrator’s office in Vestland has so far received 75 reports of failed crops, most of them involving fruit production. The number of reports is increasing daily.

“We have received significantly more reports so far this year than previously. It has been a very unusual summer,” said Bjørn-Harald Haugsvær, assistant agricultural director at the office.

Researchers say climate change will bring more unpredictable weather, including both drought and heavy rainfall. Synnøve Rivedal, a researcher at Nibio, said adapting to these changes will be very difficult for farmers.

She recommended growing several grass species in the same field, making better use of the earlier part of the season, investing in more efficient machinery and improving drainage. Since autumns are statistically becoming wetter, starting the season earlier could become increasingly important. Shorter periods of suitable weather for cutting grass will also make efficient equipment more valuable, she said.

Rivedal said unpredictable weather would increase costs, including through investment in machinery. Farmers may have little choice if the alternative is buying even more feed.

Myklebust hopes the weather will improve next week. If he can cut the grass then, the consequences will not be catastrophic.

“If you are going to look at everything darkly, farming is not the right profession. You have to look at life with some optimism,” he said.