This is a subscriber-only article
I farm on the outskirts of Kongsvinger, to the east of Oslo in Norway. We keep 60 suckler cows and bring their calves to beef. Cattle are slaughtered quite young here in Norway. Almost all males are produced as bulls and we slaughter them at approximately 15 months, targeting a 400kg carcase.
Heifers are slaughtered at the same age or younger.
At the moment, a U-grade bull will achieve a final beef price of the equivalent of €7.50/kg. The government subsidises around €1.50 of this – Norway is not in the EU. We are not self-sufficient in beef and consume all of our own.
I farm 250ha, which is quite a lot for a single operation in Norway. Our average farm sizes are similar to Ireland. About 170ha of this is for producing grain, 40ha is to produce winter crops and 40ha is for grazing.
There is 2ft of snow on the ground. It’s the most winter snow we’ve had for a number of years. When this clears, I will be able to graze.
The herd calves in February and March and all of the animals will be inside during and after calving. We have good creep facilities in shed.
In Norway, there is almost no vaccination of calves or cows. Our climate means the diseases you are used to in Ireland find it difficult to survive.
We also place a huge emphasis on biosecurity. On my farm, all visitors must use our clothing and footwear.
We had our first calving last week, 10 days ahead of schedule. It was a set of twins and, unfortunately, one was stillborn. It was a male and we are left with a small female.
Our dry cows are eating ammonia straw, a small amount of treated barley and pre-calver mineral licks.
To produce ammonia straw, bales are injected with ammonia. This breaks down the indigestible fibre fraction and increases the straw’s feeding value. It is helping us to stretch our fodder reserves.
This region saw very difficult weather in September and it disrupted the silage harvest badly. There is a fodder shortage in the region now.
I have a business selling Maxammon-treated barley and we are seeing lots of demand now as farmers are low on fodder.
The process increases the protein concentration of the barley. We have been in business for three years and we’re now handling 3,000t of cereals. We have around 50 customers on our books, some travelling up to 600km for our product.
Last week, we were making Maxammon oat bales. Wrapping the grains in plastic makes for easier storage so farmers can keep them outside. Between the beef herd and the cereal business, there are six people working on the farm during peak season.
I hope to focus more on grazing in the coming years, but it is difficult. The snow will be gone from the lowlands by 1 April, hopefully.
I can graze then, but when the snow melts on the mountains maybe three weeks later, the river that borders my land will rise. There are always bad floods in my grazing fields for a couple of days. Maybe I will take an early silage cut this year before the floods come.
Perennial ryegrass doesn’t persist in our climates. Our swards contain Timothy, Meadow Fescue and Bluegrass. It’s definitely an area I want to focus on. this year, like you do in Ireland.
SHARING OPTIONS: