A short look in the farmers’ handbook

temperatures starting to exceed 10°C coupled with excellent successs in hybridization and selection, resulting in superior barley lines. Grain growing in Iceland now has become fairly widespread with mean yields generally over 3t ha-1 and in some areas reaching 6-8 t ha-1, on par with good results in Scandinavia. This was brought about by a major emphasis on breeding, but better knowledge of cultivation techniques and fertilizer use was already at hand from the barley field experiments conducted during the brief „renaissance“ period in the early 1960s.

It is interesting to trace the history of grain growing in the 1960s through reports and advice on barley farming which were published in the Farmers´ Handbook (Handbók Bænda) for that period. In 1960 there was no special reference to grain production and all the emphasis was given to forage and horticultural production. In 1961, however, Klemenz Kr. Kristjánsson wrote a short chapter on cereal growing (pp. 128-130) followed by two chapters by the present author in 1962 (pp. 102-107) and 1963 (pp. 138-142). In 1964 there was no special reference to grain growing but three of the experimental stations reported that some trials were carried out, all with poor or no success due to bad weather. In 1965 there is no special entry on grain growing in the Handbook but two experimental stations in north and east Iceland carried out some variety comparisons with poor results. The Akureyri Station reported that the Farmers´ Barley Growing Cooperative, Öxará, in NorthThingeyjarsýsla, under the leadership of the former Colorado farmer Bjarni Pétursson, had decided to curtail their operations and that Akureyri was the only place in north Iceland that grew barley in 1964. In 1966 my successor, Jónas Jónsson, wrote in Figure 6. Jónas Jónsson in an oat field at Gunnarsholt 1963. the Farmers´ Handbook a ten page review of grain growing for the six years 1960-1965. He reported the declining performance of small grain cultivars in this period but concluded that there were certain favourable areas in south, southeast and east Iceland where grain production could be recommended. His conclusion was that the low yields were due to the decline in mean summer temperatures for the period. He also made recommendations to farmers for the Figure 7. Barley harvesting at Gunnarsholt 1962. Sveinn Runólfsson choice of varieties and fertilizer on tractor, right front. rates based on the results of the