Farms in Norway

[Agvg]

Making some silage

 

[Thomas]

Looks like you got a good start before old man winter comes a knocking.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

How much snow do you average there?

 

[Agvg]

Its not much snow, between 0 and 30cm, often it gets warm in the winter so it rains away. But some winters it gets cold for a short period, experienced -18C here at the coldest. Up in the mountains it massive amounts of snow, several meters at the most.

 

[ovrszd]

What is the sileage? Green chopped grain of some kind? Green cut grass hay?

 

[Agvg]

Cut gras that are bailed after a few hour or a day of drying.

 

[Agvg]

Ensilage may be a more correct word, nobody except those that has horses do hay anymore.

 

[ovrszd]

Yes, that's done here too. Seems to be growing in popularity.

 

[ovrszd]

There are 46,000 cattle including calves in my County. So we have a variety of feed methods used. If we have a poor corn crop a lot of sileage is cut. Most hay is mixed warm season grasses. Some alfalfa.

 

[Agvg]

I'm just selling them, I must run this farm or rent out the land on a 10 years contract, so the choice is easy, this the law so I have had the government on my back because I just lended out the land for free by the year, did this for nine years but now they had a check on this matter so now it's by the book

 

[Agvg]

Rain and mist

 

[Agvg]

My uncle lived of this farm, now it's redused to a hobby that I have to pay for, the same has happened to most all my neighbors, a couple of farmers rents almost all the land around me for raising sheep's, the economy are very bad for small farms so they are moonshine farmers, what happens when they retire is an open question, children don't feel for working a full day job and then work all night for very little extra money.

 

[grsthegreat]

Where are your Fjords

 

[ovrszd]

I'm just selling them, I must run this farm or rent out the land on a 10 years contract, so the choice is easy, this the law so I have had the government on my back because I just lended out the land for free by the year, did this for nine years but now they had a check on this matter so now it's by the book

Our government is heavily involved in the Agriculture business. Farmers here are losing their independence. You comply or we'll squeeze you out. Some of this is for the good of the country. Some is too much. Just have to find a spot you can live in.

 

[ovrszd]

Here, the small family farm is almost gone. You have to get big or get out. Our average age for farmers is at a high number. When they die or retire large farmers buy them out. Very good friend of mine plants 25,000 acres of corn and soybeans per year. He's above average in size. But in ten years he'll be the average.

We've had marginal profit years for the past two. If the young farmers don't make some money this year they will be in trouble.