According to Johan Lagerholm, August usually offers nice weather and the wheat harvest in Sörmland is in full swing. But this year it looks different.
The heavy rains during the latter part of the summer have meant that the harvest that could have begun has had to be interrupted at regular intervals – and now the ground is wet.
Expensive harvests
If, after all, you harvest in the wet, then machines used can destroy the soils. In addition, the crop is affected.
According to Johan Lagerholm, concern is now spreading among the around 4,000 farmers in Sörmland who are affiliated with LRF.
"We talked about this already at the beginning of the summer when it was so dry. This is one of the most expensive harvests we have grown – so there are large economic values in the field and you are economically dependent on being able to harvest and sell – or feed your animals with the harvest.
More irrigation ponds
He believes that more extreme weather must lead to farmers being better prepared for the consequences of the weather.
"Some agrotechnical measures may be needed, such as more irrigation ponds to cope with drier periods.
When it comes to replacing crops that are more weather-resistant, Johan Lagerholm does not believe that this is relevant right now.
"But more maize will be grown in the future, especially in southern Sweden.
In the clip you see how wheat can be affected by the moisture that currently exists in the soils and hear Johan Lagerholm talk about farmers' concerns about this year's harvest and the increasingly extreme weather.