Norway focuses on young patriots in agri­cul­ture

It’s early evening in October and the clouds are sitting low in the side valley off Gudbrandsdal, Norway, forming a dense, white veil above the Sjoa river. The contours of the moun­tains on the other side of the valley are just about visible. A light dusting of snow, the first of the year, gives a wintry aspect to the rolling land­scape around Heidal, a village located in the Innlandet province, about 300km north of Oslo. There is a light burning in a barn on Ase Umi Skogum’s farm, as her grandson Ellan Skogum, feeds his 16 cows. The cowshed had been empty for 13 years, but the lights have been back on since Ellen­bought his first two beef cows: Limousin-Simmental cross­breds – Simmental for the milk yield, and Limousin for the meat quality.

“I stood there in our neighbour’s cowshed and had to decide there and then whether or not I wanted them.” Ellan recalls. It was a ‘yes’. “Super exciting of course, but also really nice – I’m very fond of cows,” he says.

The dream of being a farmer becomes reality

Ever since he was young, Ellan knew that he wanted to be a farmer. At six months of age, he crawled around the cowshed – the same site from which his grand­par­ents had run a dairy busi­ness. Ellan helped his grand­par­ents with milking and tending to the cows. But in 2011, with no son or daughter wanting to take over, his grand­par­ents closed the farm. And so, the cowshed ended up empty. It was some­thing that started to gnaw away at the back of Ellan’s mind. Every time he called in to visit his grand­mother, he looked at the cowshed and thought about his dream of one day being a farmer.

Two years ago, he did some­thing about it: He was going to keep cows once again in his grandmother’s old cowshed. “It was a diffi­cult deci­sion because I’ve got a well-paid job right now, but I really like the farming life – it’s a lifestyle. The freedom that comes with it is what really appeals to me.” Given his job with a regional elec­tricity firm, he decided to opt for beef cattle rather than going into dairy. “I don’t have quota; you have to invest a lot just to get started in dairying and it demands a lot of work on a daily basis. But you can run a beef herd along­side your regular job.” His aim is to expand steadily and ulti­mately become a full-time farmer.

The turning tide: A new gener­a­tion shapes Norway’s agri­cul­ture

As in other Euro­pean coun­tries, the number of farmers is decreasing in Norway. On average, one farmer leaves the industry every day. Ellan’s grand­mother sees signs of this decline in her own village. “Twenty or 30 years ago, Heidal had 113 dairy farms, and now there are about 10 left. In those days, a lot of farmers had a summer farm in the moun­tains. Now I know of only one.” But it looks like the tide is turning, because her grandson is not the only one to show an interest. In Heidal, there are more young entre­pre­neurs who are going back to the farming life. In the past two years, five to six new farming oper­a­tions have started up, most special­ising in beef cattle or sheep.

Ellan’s in-laws are another example of this trend. Terje Jonny Sveen and his family, together with a number of farm workers, run a dairy herd of 60-65 dairy cows, and with an annual produc­tion of 600,000kg of milk. His son, Even Nystuen Sveen has started up a beef farm with 40 head of cattle. In 2026, the family farm will mark its 100th year. “Being a farmer is in the genes,” says Terje, as the fourth gener­a­tion in his family. “I love every­thing to do with farming – from cows to trac­tors. I’ve got that from my father, and my son has got it from me.”

Eight John Deere – and each one has its task

The trac­tors on the Sveen family farm repre­sent about 40 years of green and yellow lineage. “My father bought the first one in 1984,” says Terje. “That was a John Deere 1640 – we still have it. We now use it mainly for hauling timber out of the woods.” Today, the fleet consists of another six John Deere trac­tors. In 1993 there was a 6300, a 6310 in 2000 and even a 7700 in 2007, which Terje replaced six years later with a 6140R. “Buying the 7700 might have been a rather impul­sive act. I was really excited about this Amer­ican series, but in prac­tice this machine really is too big for Norwe­gian condi­tions,” he says. “German John Deeres work best here. They’re lighter and easier to operate than the Amer­ican ones.” There are two 6M series trac­tors in the yard: A 6155M and a 6120M. Two of Terje’s trac­tors are fitted with preci­sion agri­cul­tural tech­nology. “GPS makes work much easier. We use it for mowing, spreading fertiliser and spraying. As well as using less fuel, all you need to do is drive so you don’t need to pay as much atten­tion. By the end of the day, you really are less tired.”

There is one more John Deere 2020: The hobby tractor. Terje sees nothing strange in having eight trac­tors, 60 dairy cows and 40 beef cattle. “It’s a passion,” he says. “I want the right tractor for the right job. For lighter work we use lighter trac­tors, and vice versa. John Deere has good prod­ucts and provides a good service.” The dealer is an hour’s drive away from him. “The young people who work there usually get it. They’re handy with computers and drive the trac­tors at home them­selves.”

The future grows in Heidal

As a farmer, Terje can see the future of agri­cul­ture in Heidal. “We farmers are really impor­tant for society: We produce food. It’s good to see the younger gener­a­tion following their passion. “During the 50s and 60s, sons took over their fathers’ farms because they had to, because it was expected of them. Now chil­dren are taking over farms or starting up a new one because they want to, because it’s some­thing that inter­ests them. That is a completely different kind of moti­va­tion, and some­thing we’ll have to use to our advan­tage.” Terje’s son and grandson are exam­ples of this – they’re making consid­ered deci­sions. “Of course, costs for diesel, fertiliser, straw and feed are increasing constantly, but I can see the oppor­tu­ni­ties,” says Ellan.

To prepare himself for his new life, he did a course in agri­cul­tural economics and took time off work to find his feet. He also trav­elled to get inspi­ra­tion from other farmers. Ellan is expecting the demand for locally produced food to increase. “Next year a new slaugh­ter­house will be opened here in Otta, about half an hour’s drive away. That means the animals don’t have to be trans­ported to Hamar or Åndel­snes, which is more like 200km away. Some­thing the consumer wants is local food produc­tion, and I can certainly help with that.”

His aim is to grow his herd to 40-50 head. “There’s a living to be made from that, which means I can make a living from the farm.” Instead of investing right away in large machines and mate­rials, he wants to build a larger cowshed. “I want to show others that it’s possible – that we, as the young gener­a­tion, can build a farming busi­ness back up. I was born and raised here; I’m proud of Heidal and of the farmers here.”

But life on the farm also brings chal­lenges

Østen Sanden is another young farmer from Heidal who would like to become a farmer, although he’s currently on a work place­ment with the well-known Fjell­nett. Being a farmer is also in his genes. His grand­fa­ther had the first John Deere in Heidal, an 1120. “I grew up with John Deere,” he says. “It’s the only brand the family ever used.” There is another John Deere, a 6210R from 2014. “The newer they are, the better they work,” he says. “I learned to operate them from an early age. The tractor looks great and works well. You know where you are with it.” The light main­te­nance work, like changing the oil, is some­thing he does himself. “They’re really reli­able; if you main­tain them well, they will just keep going.”

Østen’s parents, Jan Egil and Gro-Anita, are both from farming fami­lies and have taken over a dairy farm from Gro-Anita’s parents. In 2019, they joined forces with two other dairy farms. Together they now run a 70-head dairy herd with an annual produc­tion of about 500,000 litres. The cowshed has been auto­mated as much as possible, with robotic milking, feed and manure manage­ment systems. But uncer­tainty about survival persists.

Norway’s moun­tains rise up behind the Sanden family’s farm.

Ostens’ mother Gro-Anita also comes from a farming family.

The cow stable of family Sanden is largely auto­mated.

The auto­matic feeding system makes work in the barn easier for the Sanden family.

Just like auto­mated milking. Never­the­less, Osten regu­larly checks the milk robot.

“We stopped running our own farm and went into a collab­o­ra­tive venture because we all thought that would give us some free time,” explains Gro-Anita. “But it didn’t work out like that. And prices just keep going up.” The biggest worry is her husband’s health, as he strug­gles with severe back pain. He is currently doing a two-year course to train as a tech­nical engi­neer, to improve his oppor­tu­ni­ties in the future, and she works full-time in domestic care services. “It would have been really nice if we could have run the farm together,” she says. “I think that would have been better, but as farmers’ wives we have to go out to work to make ends meet. We no longer really enjoy it.”

However, she holds out some hope. “If we did stop, we wouldn’t sell our quota right away. Østen has two younger brothers; we wanted to keep the option of passing the farm on – and Heidal shows it can be done. Young farmers are starting up again. They’re real patriots. They love Heidal and they love the farming life. It’s some­thing that inspires hope.”