Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and Northern Europe’s leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy and food products.
There is a good feeling about this year’s harvest
Farmers have now started the intensive spring sowing work. Large autumn sowing, export restrictions and strong global demand are factors that will affect the 2021 growing year. Arvid Lindgren is a farmer in Södermanland and we decided to touch base with him to hear how he sees the situation ahead of the 2021 harvest – a positive report.
Lindgren has leased Tullgarns kungsgård farm outside Trosa in Södermanland since 2015. On the 550 hectare farm, he mainly grows crops such as autumn wheat, autumn rye and milling oats.
In Sörmland we have autumn wheat heavy crop rotation so we grow a lot of autumn wheat. This year, we have also tried growing autumn rye within the Lantmännen Climate & Nature programme.
The spring sown milling oats Lindgren is growing are also in line with Climate & Nature. He is doing this because he wants to be part of sustainable development.
“We all need to become more sustainable, even we farmers.”
It was just a few days into April when we spoke to Lindgren. The spring sowing has gradually got underway. Some of his acquaintances have already been out harrowing. Sowing in late March or early April is not that common in Sörmland but some farmers have already been out in the fields and started doing this.
“Here in my area, the autumn crops look very good. The wheat is green and autumn rapeseed has been growing tall.”
Lindgren feels one reason for this is the favourable winter that was neither too hard, nor too bad.
“A reasonable winter. There’s been little precipitation but it’s still been cold enough. That is good for the autumn sowing as it is then easier for the crops to develop a root system. If the snow stays on the ground too long, you can get snow mould and freeze damage but we have seen very little of that around here,” says Lindgren.
One constantly recurring topic of discussion is what impact the pandemic is having on farming. For Lindgren, the effects have been marginal for his business, and if anything, purely positive.
“A year ago the price of oil was very low which was positive for my business. Plus, I did my fertiliser buying early in the summer as I had a feeling prices would rise. Which they also did.”
Finally, how do you and your neighbours view this year’s harvest?
“Grain prices have been at really high levels so it feels good ahead of this year’s harvest and this seems to be the case for my neighbours as well,” Lindgren says on a final note.