– It’s getting worse – NRK Nordland

– In my situation, I had two options, either send the animal to slaughter or complain that my 19-year-old son could stand up. It takes a toll on your health to be in such readiness when you need rest.

That’s what Trond Arne Melvoll says. The farmer from Bø in Vesterålen took over the farm 35 years ago from his parents.

The tractor is now parked. In a thick overall, he strolls slowly across the courtyard in Vikran. He walks on crutches after surgery on a knee at the end of February.

The phone call from the surgeon came on a Thursday. On Sunday he was admitted to the hospital in Stokmarknes.

– There are two days at your disposal to save your livelihood, and that is nothing for a farmer with a whole barn full of dairy cows. The animals must be milked and cared for, and that is not for just anyone.

Emergency solution

Years of hard work take its toll, but the farmer has rarely been sick or dependent on help. When Melvoll’s sick leave became a fact, his psyche also took a hit.

Because getting help in the form of a replacement was more difficult than expected.

As a member of Norwegian Agricultural Services, farmers are promised help and assistance when illness or accidents occur. But the message Melvoll received was that he had to solve the problem himself.

The message, according to Melvoll, was that there are no replacements to take off.

The emergency solution was Melvoll’s bonus son, 19-year-old Leon Andre.

He goes to the barn in the morning, before being driven one hour to the Agricultural School in Sortland. After six hours of teaching, he comes home and takes care of the barn in the afternoon.

Cohabiting couple on sick leave

His partner for eighteen years, Ann-Kristin Pettersen, is his closest colleague on the farm. She is also on sick leave. The couple is very grateful that their son can assist, but at the same time there is great frustration that the substitute arrangement does not work optimally.

– I received an offer for a replacement for only one week, from 17 March. There are two weeks into my sick leave which lasts until the start of June. It goes without saying that it doesn’t work.

Melvoll points out that the municipality had a separate arrangement for a replacement for a long time, before the Agricultural Service took over responsibility fifteen years ago.

After that, it has been difficult for all parties, especially financially.

– I cannot afford to have a permanent replacement. Nobody has that. That is why we turn to the service the few times we need help. And the help we then want must also have the right experience and knowledge.

Lack of replacements

Department manager Hilde Dahl in the Agricultural Service in Midtre Hålogaland does not recognize the criticism about the lack of help.

Dahl emphasizes that those who have needed a replacement have received offers, including Melvoll.

– When he contacted us, we had no one available, but as soon as it was sorted out, he declined. They wanted to solve it themselves, and the same goes for several other farmers.

Dahl explains that the solution was help from Eastern Europe. It seems that Melvoll became an additional burden as a recent operation.

– Receiving someone who speaks English is not easy for someone who is not good at English. It is not easy to explain and demonstrate farming in another language, and then I would have had to follow along and provide practical assistance, says Melvoll.

Dahl confirms that it is very difficult to get temporary workers at the moment.

– We try our best to help, but there are no qualified replacements to be found. This does not only apply to our area, but to the entire region and country.

Dahl explains that poor pay in agriculture is a large part of the reason why they do not get it. She also says that it is not possible to have emergency services in a municipality at all times of the day.

– It is not right that we are unable to get people. We are here, and it is also their task to use us so that the replacements we have get to know their farm, concludes Dahl.

Saved by the daughter

A couple of kilometers away from Trond Arne Melvoll’s farm lives Svanhild Pettersen, who also runs dairy cows.

She is clearly frustrated by the situation of her industry colleague.

– I know that Trond Arne has had a hard time, because this is a very big responsibility to have around the clock.

When she herself was on sick leave three years ago, she had the same experience, no replacements were available. The solution was that the daughter and son-in-law moved into the farm.

– If she hadn’t agreed, it would never have happened. Making a phone call to Nortura to ask them to come pick up the animal is very easy today.

Both she and Melvoll emphasize that no farmer can blame neighbours, friends and family when illness occurs in the person responsible on a farm.

– My daughter saved the farm back then – and now I’m just getting older. We don’t know who or what will be next. We need a system that can be trusted.

Voluntary job

John-Erik Bjørlo is deputy chairman of the Sortland farming association. He knows that several farmers are struggling to find replacements, and expresses great concern on their behalf.

– During holidays and free time it is difficult to get hold of people, but during illness it certainly does not work. If there is no replacement in place, it can lead to animal tragedies in the worst case.

Bjørlo believes that it was easier to get help and assistance from family when crises arose, but that times have changed and companies have become bigger.

– Today, farmers have to volunteer with each other. If a replacement is on assignment and has to assist in a crisis elsewhere, the challenge will always be that someone with time off or illness is left without help.