Sweden's harvest is estimated to be one of the worst in 30 years. Even in northern Sweden, farmers were badly affected. "It has been very wet," says farmer Martin Forslund in Häbbersfors, Kåge.
This year's harvests of milling wheat, malting barley, and hulled oats are much lower than usual due to significant quality problems caused by the heavy summer rains. Indeed some of the crops' suitability for human consumption has become borderline in some cases and they're instead being used only as animal feed.
Norran visited Martin Forslund at the beginning of June. At the time, there was talk of a warm and dry summer, but it didn't turn out that way.
– The harvest has been delayed because of the wet conditions. The crop is much smaller and the quality of the fodder and grain is poor," says Martin Forslund.
He runs Milafo Agriculture with 360 dairy cows and young cattle.
– We had to wait and wait before we could bring in the crop. The soil was very wet. We just finished harvesting four weeks ago.
And because the crops were wet, the drying process had to run at full capacity.
– It also affected us because fuel was very expensive for a while.
– We still managed with the crop, even though the quantity was smaller, says Forslund.
According to Lantmännen, the long periods of rain have made harvesting in northern Sweden very challenging. The rain has sometimes caused problems with the carrying capacity of the fields, which means that not everything could be harvested. The rain has also reduced the quality of the crop.
– For many, this year's crop results mean that the maths doesn't add up when expenses such as fertilizer and fuel have been purchased at record price levels. Add to this the challenges of rising interest rates and the fact that many fields were affected by rain, making it difficult to get out for autumn sowing, says Cathrine Wallin, regional manager north, Lantmännen Agriculture.
In central and northern Sweden, autumn-sown crops seem to have fared better than spring-sown crops.
Investing in irrigation and drainage systems often costs a lot of money.
– Despite the fact that few want to experience this year's weather and the associated conditions for future harvests, prolonged and extreme weather is probably something we will see more of. We will have to make further adjustments, such as sowing more autumn crops, but also ensuring that ditches and drainage are maintained, says Anna Lindgren, crop adviser at Lantmännen Agriculture, in a press release.
The grain harvest is expected to be between 4.4 and 4.5 million tons. Last year's harvest was 5.8 million tons.
