Posted on 04/10/2010 10:12:23 PM PDT by george76
Agriculture was the mainstay occupation for centuries and censuses from the mid-19th century show that 70-80% of the nation lived from farming then.
Family farming is overwhelmingly the most common arrangement and in some cases two families work the same farm. Most farmers own their land and many farms have been owned by the same families for centuries. The average Icelandic farm is small, with 18 milk cows and 152 sheep in the past decade.
Most farms are engaged in sheep rearing... about 3,250 farms. Of these, 550 were largely dairy-based farms, 1,830 were predominantly sheep farms and 880 were in mixed farming.
In terms of value, cattle farming is the most important segment, accounting for about 35% of the estimated value of production, against 28% in sheep farming.
Grain is grown in very limited quantites in Iceland and most agricultural land is devoted to grass for production of hay and silage ... Other crops include potatoes... turnips and carrots.
Cultivation of vegetables and flowers in geothermally heated greenhouses is extensive. In total, greenhouses produced about 800 tonnes of tomatoes in 1998... cucumbers come second in importance after tomatoes, and the output of 700 tonnes...
Afforestation (or reforestation) is on the increase ...
http://www.iceland.is/economy-and-industry/agriculture/nr/29
The article is a bit of hype. It says they are now at 9% unemployment. Well, join the world! Most countries are 9% or more.
The examples of hurting people are single moms. No lack of examples to pull from there. Single motherhood is the number one cause of poverty.
BINGO!
The jobless rate likely does not include emigration ... Last year it marked the largest exodus from the country since 1887.
In 2009, more than 10,600 people left the country of fewer than 320,000 inhabitants
My brother in law, born in Canada, has been talking about returning.
Agree that the welfare state creation of single mothers ( who may not even know who is the father ) is a disaster.
As we know, it is best to have a husband who also is the father. Not just for financial reasons.
Maybe Taiwan, as well.
I live on the border and spend and I have spent a lot of time in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky. I have never seen southeast Michigan so depressed. Lots of vacant commercial real estate. Lots of residential foreclosures. No jobs. Although the city I live in has the highest unemployment rate in Canada, the difference in prosperity is striking.
My wife was born near Toronto, but neither of us has any desire to move from our current location. Should employment situations change, we may have to.
The only thing making a comeback in SE MI this year are the Red Wings. (Sorry about the smack down.)
The Tigers are off to a nice start.
I have heard that. That is good news.
What is GFC?
Yes, Canada is in good shape. But the climate......
Hey, its getting warmer here. Remember “global warming”?
Reading your link paints a pretty poor picture on Icelandic agriculture.
I remember seeing sheep and a few cows, but I was in southern Iceland (around Reykjavik)and the landscape was pretty bleak in May.
I’m glad they are doing as well as they are; in Finland the farmers are renting out their barns for weddings and giving tours for tourists in order to make do. They can’t make a living farming anymore.
Farming and fishing looks tough in Iceland.
Their geothermally heated greenhouses look interesting, but still not easy.
Iceland and the rest of us are headed to very hard times.
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