On Mors, a small island in the Limfjord in northern Jutland, Herluf Hensberg has taken a peep at farming practices of the future adapted to a new climate, and in doing so he has greatly inspired his fellow farmers.
In reality, no one actually believed that Herluf Hensberg would
be able to do it. No one has ever managed two harvests a year
in Denmark. Harvesting twice a year has traditionally been reserved
for farmers in far warmer regions. However, last year when Mr
Hensberg decided nonetheless to attempt bringing in the harvest
from his fields twice during the same year, this was no far-fetched
idea. The climate is changing, so why not give it a try, as
Mr Hensberg explains.
"We are seeing the effects already. Today we harvest some 14 days
earlier than just 10 years ago. And last year the harvest promised
to fall even earlier, so we decided to give it a try and sow a
special type of Swedish barley as soon as our winter barley had
been harvested. The type of barley that we sowed has
been developed for cultivation in the far north, where the growing
season is very short, so we thought, let's try with 15 hectares of
this barley and see how it goes," says Herluf Hensberg.
The first responses came very soon after. Journalists called to
learn more about the farmer who believed it was possible to harvest
twice within the same year, and soon after Mr Hensberg saw a second
spur of interest, this time from his fellow farmers, calling him
from all corners of Denmark.
"Suddenly, other farmers started calling to ask where I got my
seed corn from and how things were going. They could see that what
I was doing might very well make sense," says Herluf
Hensberg.
Better than ploughing the plants under
Mr Hensberg thinks it's an obvious idea, since the Danish
regulations on control of nitrogen leaching and runoff from fields
mean that fields may not be left bare after harvesting. As many
other farmers, Mr Hensberg used to merely plough under the plants
that had been sowed and left to grow after the actual
harvest.
"But surely we can sow something useful instead. Climate change
might help us out here," Herluf Hensberg explains.
When the ordinary harvest comes earlier in the year, we will have
more sunny days for maturing a new round of crops. The number of
sunshine hours is decisive for whether the corn matures well
enough, so the extra 14 days is a huge advantage. The temperature
in itself is less important. Last autumn, Herluf Hensberg harvested
his extra crop during frosty weather, which was actually an
advantage.
"It is much easier to manage the harvesters on a surface that is
hard from frost and the corn is nice and dry from the frost," says
Herluf Hensberg.
Will try again this year
He gained no financial benefit from last year's experiment, but Mr
Hensberg gained experience that has encouraged him to make an
attempt at two harvests again this year, and this time on
twice the area - 30 of his total 350 hectares of farmland.
"Last autumn we were pretty badly hit by bad weather, so this year
we have chosen a type of cereal that is more resilient to rain and
wind. And although last year we brought in the first harvest on 17
July, we weren't able to sow again until 23 July, because the seed
corn from Sweden was delayed. This year we are hoping to sow again
as early as 15 July," Herluf Hensberg explains.
At the farm on Mors they plant two consecutive harvests of the
same crop. This means that they can use the same machines for both
harvests. However, many of the around 30-35 farmers who have
contacted Herluf Hensberg to hear about his experiences, use other
types of crop which may also be combined with a late harvest. These
include early-harvest lettuce and potatoes.
However, it is not merely about exploiting the farmland better,
Herluf Hensberg says. It is also about running a sound
business.
"Preferably, we should be able to run a farm so that work is
divided fairly evenly throughout the year, and so that we avoid
periods where no value is being created. I give a lot of thought to
what is needed to optimise my operation," says Herluf
Hensberg.
Next time we'll try with maize
Thinking about optimisation has so far led him in the direction of
a new experiment. Mr Hensberg is considering sowing maize after the
next ordinary harvest of corn. The maize could grow over
winter and be harvested for biofuel in the spring.
"It wouldn't yield cobs, but maize really produces an enormous
amount of biomass which could be sold as fuel. I confess I have
thought about trying it on a couple of hectares," says Herluf
Hensberg.