It's a lovely day at the end of summer as we look out over the field on the outskirts of Höganäs. The sun beams down through the slightly cloudy sky. Beets are crowded on the ground. Lots of green leaves are dancing in the light wind and reaching up to the sky. Underneath, you can see bright red foliage in a lovely color contrast that draws down towards the beets themselves resting in the soil.
- "As you can see, the leaves are very nice. This indicates good beetroot," says Göran.
Farming is in Göran's blood. When the Gibrand family came to Steglinge farm in the 60s, he was just a child and as a second generation farmer he literally lives and breathes farming.
- This field had to be reseeded as the first sowing was washed away in a downpour that took everything with it. I was also worried about the second sowing, but it stuck.
Farming is a science and hearing about all the challenges makes your head spin. Last year, the drought in spring made it difficult to produce beetroot in the right sizes. As a result, the Swedish season ended earlier than expected. This year, it was difficult to get the right seeds at a good price. And then the weather, as I said. Constantly this weather. Instead of drought, this year it rained in torrents, which brought completely different challenges.
- It is not easy. The potato year looks to be tough. A lot of rain over our fields has caused the potatoes to rot and it looks like there will be a big shortage," says Göran and continues
- I finally managed to secure seeds for the beetroot and I am careful about how I sow. And then I carefully add nutrients. I call it 'fattening' them up with vitamins, so that the beets feel good. Despite all these efforts, things can still go wrong. Weather and wind are not our fault.
The beautiful field stretches as far as the eye can see. Together, the land makes up 16 hectares and each hectare holds around 50 tons of beetroot. Beyond the field, a windmill can be seen. The view would have made a perfect subject for a painting.
We walk carefully between small paths to make our way along the field without damaging any plants. Every beetroot counts. At one point, Göran bends down, grabs the leaf and pulls.
- These are too small. We'll leave them here for a while longer so they can grow.
Let's walk a bit and try again.
- These are perfect.
The tour comes to an end and we retrace our steps. In this field, beets won't come back for six years. It's called crop rotation. The soil is optimized by planting different crops in turn on a given plot. Göran has a bunch of beets in his hand. He looks at them again and nods with satisfaction. If the potato year looks challenging, things look brighter for the beetroot.
- We have double the seed cost and we haven't harvested here yet, so we can't charge anything. At the same time, we have to be happy when things look good. The feeling is that we have succeeded.
