As the end of the year approaches, Norwegian farmers are out with the plough readying the fields for winter, for it is the freezing of the ground which breaks down the autumn ridges and does much of the seedbed preparation.
At a village by the name of Skatval, close to Trondheim and around 200 miles south of the artic circle, Joakim Floan generously paused from his work to give a snapshot of how the typical Norwegian farm goes about the autumn cultivations.
Autumn cultivation and spring sowing
With his father, the pair farm around 600ac, much of which is leased and/or under contract farming, all of it, for the time being is tillage.
The field Floan was working had been under spring barley and would be in the same crop next, the winters are just too severe for autumn sowing.
2024 had been a reasonable year although May had been dry and and the harvest catchy, with frequent showers slowing the process, but now the ground is drying and the soil is turning cleanly and easily.
Green tractors only
John Deere is the tractor of choice for the Floan family and the present 6420s 110hp model has the same power of the six cylinder a 6600 from 1997 that it replaced.
It was the older tractor that impressed so much that they stuck with the brand.
Having spent years in the forest towing an un-braked trailer, it only needed a new set of brakes to see it make 14,000 hours before it was sold on to a neighbour, who still has it, and it is still only supping at the diesel.
The present 6420S is from 2005 and has just 3,350 hours clocked up. Fitted with a Trima loader, it was working with an Overum plough which replaced a Kverneland unit in 2013.
Floan notes that the Overum unit has performed faultlessly over the interceding years and is less prone to trash build up between the bodies, as well as being more rigid.
11 years on, it is still producing a neat job and appears well matched to the John Deere, although it is hinted that the engine might now be producing a little more power than it left the factory with.
Boulder picking
The front loader had a stone fork attached which is used to sieve stones and boulders from the soil that may be churned up while harrowing, reversing back to pick them out.
These are still a problem in many fields which have been more recently cleared of forestry, yet as the years pass they become less frequent.
During ploughing, it doubles up as a front end weight when loaded with a handful of concrete blocks to keep the nose down and the wheels gripping.
Norway in autumn is a beautiful country, with the leaves showing a depth of colour that we rarely see here in Ireland. Ploughing on through the day surrounded by such scenery is a privilege that few will share.
Floan, however, has plans for the farm and hopes to establish a 200 cow dairy herd in the years to come, and given the delight and enthusiasm which he displays in pursuing the present operation, he will no doubt make a great success of it.
