By Alex Paul
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Thursday, January 18, 2007 12:00 am
Government regulations limit the amount of nitrogen, pesticides and herbicides farmers in Denmark can apply to their fields, agronomist Birte Boelt told nearly 300 members of the Oregon Ryegrass Growers Association Tuesday.
Boelt, an agronomist with the Danish Institute for Agricultural Sciences, was among several speakers during the association's 46th annual meeting held at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center. She is no stranger to Linn County and works closely with Mark Mellbye of the Oregon State University Extension Service. Boelt visited several area farms and the university during her five-day stay in the mid-valley.
Danish farmers are efficient, Boelt said. Although there are five million Danes, its farmers produce enough food to feed 15 million people. Two-thirds of the country's ag products are exported throughout the European Union, which includes 25 countries. About 18 percent of the exports go to Germany, Denmark's neighbor to the south.
"The majority of our exports are animal products such as butter, cheese, beef, pork and poultry," Boelt said. "Only 2 percent of our exports are grains."
There are 40,000 farms in Denmark, of which more than half are considered hobby farms. They average 143 acres. Soil types vary widely due to the effects of ice ages. Grass seed is usually sown in April and harvested in July or August. Other crops include wheat, spring barley, canola, maize, sugar beets, potatoes and seed crops.
Organic farming is increasing in popularity in recent years, accounting for about 6 percent of the total farm area. It's especially popular among dairy farmers who distribute manure onto their land in lieu of synthetic fertilizers.
Over the last 10 years, the Danish government has increased pressures on chemical usage. The use of growth regulators is down 22 percent, fungicides are down 66 percent, herbicides are down 55 percent and insecticides are down 93 percent.
There are also restrictions on the number of chemical applications allowed per crop, Boelt said.
Nitrogen use is down 30 percent over 10 years, Boelt said. The amount of nitrogen a farmer can apply is regulated to 10 to 15 percent of the economic optimal rate, which may be one reason that grass seed yields are stagnant. There's also a limit of how much manure cattle or hog farmers can apply to fields, which is why many are in constant search of more land, even though it's expensive nn about $12,000 per acre.
Aerial mapping is common, Boelt said, with farmers required to indicate what type of crop is on every part of their land, if they wish to be eligible to receive about $154 per acre in annual subsidy.
In spite of all of the restrictions, Denmark still produces 35 percent of the grass seed grown in the European Union, Boelt said. Germany is second with 14 percent and France and the Netherlands, produce 11 percent.
Farmers often use grass seed as a cover crop during a five-year rotation program, Boelt said.
Open field burning is still allowed in Denmark, although research into straw chopping is under way.