Farming in Greenland - Henrik Frederiksen

0:00This is a podcast from Rover. We're heading over to Greenland now, which we've never done before on the program. We've got Henrik Friedrichson with us, who is a shareer over there, and also an agricultural consultant as well. It's lovely to have you on the program. How are you? Yes, I'm very good, and thank you for having me here in your program. Well, it's interesting to go around the world and get different perspectives on farming. Tell me firstly, where you live in Greenland. I live in South Greenland, a city called Kotok, and we have our ship farming here in South Greenland. That's the predominant thing that happens in Greenland? Yeah, pretty much a ship farming, but we also have four who has cattle beside the ship.

1:02Also, we have some who grow vegetables that are mostly happy. So there's no real dairy industry in Greenland, is the cattle for meat, basically? Yeah, only meat for cattle, but there has been milk cattle before I was born. Right, back in the day, yeah. Okay, so what area of the country actually has pastoral farming? Is it a big area of Greenland, or is it just certain little pockets of the country that has farming on it? Yeah, it's only in South Greenland, but we have one ship farmer near Nuke.

2:05It's our capital town in Greenland, and one is over there, but mostly are here down in South Greenland. What sort of temperatures does Greenland get? Let's say in the height of summer and the depths of winter, how high and how cold does it get? Yeah, it can be up to 20 degrees, Celsius degrees in one summer day, but they also can be a little bit warmer up to 24 or something. But it is not common that we have that, but mostly it's up to maybe 12 or 16 degrees normally. And during winter time, it can be in South Greenland, it can be up to minus 30 Celsius degrees.

3:16And when it's very cold, it can be up to minus 30, but normally it's from 15 to 23 degrees minus. It's unbelievable. How big is the sheep in the tree in Greenland? Is it a big sector? Is it a big earner for the country? Yeah, we have what we call 31 ship farmers right now, but it's a little bit decreasing amounts of ship farmers. And we have right now up to...

4:16We have 11,000 and 600 more sheep and 2,400 one year's Kimmelamps. Okay, so it's compared to other places around the world. It's not a very big industry. Yeah, it's not a big... if we see it in the global events, but it's not so small here in Greenland. Last year, around 16,700 lamps to the slaughterhouse and up to 260 tons of meat of lamp.

5:20And around 2,200 of sheep to the slaughterhouse where the meat is up to 56 tons. Is that for domestic consumption or do you export it? How does it... where does the meat go to? The meat is only sold here in Greenland. Yeah, it's interesting because in New Zealand everything that we grow and produce about 95% of it goes to another country. And we keep a little bit for us. What varieties of sheep have you got over there? The first sheep that came here to Greenland is the Pharaoh Island sheep. And they came in 1906.

6:27But it is a small numbers of sheep that have a right as just as a hobby. And what do we call? And we have Icelandic sheep that came here to Greenland in 1915. And that's mostly of those 300 that we have right now the sheep we have here in Greenland. There have been some up to 78 grams from Norway imported here to I think it is in the 50s, 60s. I don't really remember the date of the year. But mostly this from Icelandic.

7:31And right now it's a little bit different from the Icelandic. So we call it Greenland sheep. Right, so you've got your almost own variety. Is there a big wall industry? What happens? I know you're a shareer as well. What happens with the wall clip? Where does that go? I'm not actually a shareer, but I share my brothers and brothers what we call the sheep. I help when my little brother is sharing at least. So it's only one farm I mostly share right now. But the wall it is not using it is not used well here in Greenland. But there are some locals that are trying to start or to use more of the walls that we have here in Greenland.

8:41So they are trying to start up to make a company to work with the wall. Right, okay. And it would be what we call strong wall is supposed to find micron wall. Yeah, I think it's what we call strong. Yeah, so good for carpets and things like that. All that sort of stuff. Yeah, yeah. But also what do we call we have what do we call it? It is what do we? Yeah, like a jumper. Yeah, I can show you if you have time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, go on, yeah, yeah. For example, I have this one from whom my mother has made.

9:46I don't know what this called in English words, but it is what do we call? Well, there could be a jumper or a or a or a jersey. We'd call it a jersey in New Zealand. That's what we call that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And did your mum do that? Yeah. Yeah, also the very nice. The colos is also from the plants that she has. Oh, really? Yeah. So with the sheep and those temperatures that you were talking about earlier that can get up to minus 30 Celsius. I imagined then it would be is it indoor or barn farming? Wouldn't be just there wouldn't be is out in the open pasture. Yeah, we have the sheep in the barns. For example, we have them inside from start off November up to May month where we have the sheep in the barns.

10:53And we have what do we call grass fodder from from our fields for winter supply. So we so they packed them in round piles and wrapped them in foil. And so we have so we have the grass what do we call fresh? So also the sheep can eat during their in barn times. Right. Okay. Yep. That makes sense. All right. So is the climate from what you can ascertain? Is it actually getting slightly warmer? We hear that it's a little bit warmer over there. Now there might have been a few decades ago. Is that is that true? And if so, what effect is that having on farming or is it not true?

11:57Yes, it's we can feel the climate change here in Greenland. It's the average temperature yearly. It is what do we call a warmer? But the summer is not so warm. And it used to so we feel the Celsius of the decrease. It's it's not that high, but it's. But it is in what do we call longer period of summer time we have. But the but the Celsius decrease is not so high. So I think that we have called the summers the last few years.

13:04The high temperatures is very unusual at the moment during summer. But also. For example, we have here. From where it was not cold. All up to the simple. The simple month and. And it's just here. The few days. Weeks that it's getting cold. So right now we have. Minus 20 degrees here in the capital. But we also have a. North wind. When it's. When it is not wind. It is very. Cold wind to maybe. Right now we have minus 10 degrees.

14:06And maybe it will feel. Minus 22 when we go outside. Wow. That's incredible. So you obviously process all your your own meat. From the sheep. And in the cattle. Yeah. Yes, we have a slaughterhouse in. City. Nasak. The city is called Nasak and. We have a slaughterhouse over there. So they. What do we call. They transport the sheep lamps. To. There's a lot of house with what do we call the land craft. Land craft ship. So. It can have up to 500. And 70. Lamps in. One sale.

15:06Where they call to a place. Then collect those. 570 lamps. Then sell back to. To. The. Nasak. slaughterhouse. So the. The. Mid of September. Up to. 25th October. So the word. They were they slaughter lamps and sheep. So the. But the land craft is sailing. Almost every day. They slaughter. See some. It's not sailing in. Saturday. And it. Sales.

16:07Normally. One day. One time at one day. But. Few. Where they. Two times. In one day. What do. What can we call a. Crashing area. In the mountains. In the nature. Where they see. Having. What do we call. Just out. To the nature. So. So they. They are. They are. They are. And. They are. They are. They are. They will be. They will be. They will be. They will be. They will be. They will be. They will be. They went there. slaughterhouses on this.

17:07They are. So. Some. Some farmers have. What do we call. Crashing area. They have it. With. five six new farmers that have this big crashing area they also collect sheep from and when they are collecting in those big areas they do it from the slaughter season starts to slaughter season and so they are also very busy collecting the sheep and the loves at that time. Right okay very good now tell me it was interesting we started talking about Greenland when of course the United States was talking about acquiring Greenland. What did you think of that and how a

18:08global events affecting the industry at the moment yeah it's been a pretty interesting few months hasn't it? Yeah I think that that has been what we call us time for what a government of here in Greenland I'm not trying to think about the what do we call the situation because the the comments here in Greenland they are elected and it's their job to do what they have to do so so I trust what they do and then just try to lift our life here in South South Greenland so that's a good attitude yeah I like that yeah so you you trust your politicians

19:14to do what's right for the for the people of the country yeah they also know what's amazing they want and then we are part of that so that's why I'm not trying to think about what I cannot change or do so yeah yeah well that makes sense what about because everybody's talking now about the price of fuel and petrol and diesel at the moment obviously because of the supply issues that we've got around the world is that a global events affecting the economy of Greenland like a lot of the rest of the world yes we feel the rent the price is catching high at what do we call at the shops where we buy our what do we call food and other stuff it gets more higher price

20:24but at the few cascass diesel and others that it is already bought from last year so so they buy it for for this amount for this price so they do it so we will feel it maybe in a year course past or two years so right so yeah you guys have got a stock pile of fuel yeah okay well that's great that's excellent yeah but we also feel it when for example the farmers feel it when they they have to buy fertilizers from from other countries so they feel it when they have to buy fertilizer right okay yeah fertilizers yeah that's a big one that a lot of people are

21:32facing a problem with that definitely when it comes to eating the the the sheep meat Henrik is it you guys big meat eaters in Greenland yeah it's yeah we can say that we eat a lot of meat also we live in what do we call active what do we call cold climate so we have to eat a lot of meat to have warm to keep our body warm also when we go out and that we yeah we eat for example i and our family eat lots of lamps and sheep meat and also we have here in South Greenland also

22:41see me tomüchtig hertz of reindeer's one have in near Nasakra and they also sell some to the slaughterhouse but also in more north we have musk ox and wild reindeer so we can buy also buy meat from from the from the store what do we call the hunt us have yeah we also buy some from hunt us what's the best way almost popular way to eat lamb or deer meat over there do you roast it do you put it in stews how do you how do you consume it what's the most popular way of of of preparing the meat i think it is what do we call

23:47it is very very different how they like their sheep but we can like we like it there for example in the oven where we grill the meat so yeah you grill it yeah yeah well it's a lot of me and my family here i have a girlfriend and daughter we eat lots of soup soup here in our home yeah yeah keep your warm yeah yeah yeah that's great um but we live in we live in houses as you have houses in New Zealand it we don't live in big clothes and other yeah no oh we didn't think you did yeah that's funny yeah um listen um thank you so much

24:53for giving us a bit of an insight into what happens in Greenland from a farming point of view yes been really interesting and sorry for the technical difficulties but we got there in the end so thank you for very much for your time over there really really appreciate it all the best with everything yeah i also want to say hello if i know uh sheira from New Zealand and he's his name is Sean Adams and uh yeah and he has been here in Greenland and sharing sheep i don't i don't really remember what year that was but we keep contact in Facebook and uh so and uh we are doing kote here in Greenland and uh yeah and also we see you as uh our friends uh

25:58where you from New Zealand so it's it's good to have uh what do we call this interview from you so yeah thank you for your interest oh you're very welcome thank you for your time and uh hello again to Sean Adams who's been a share over there in in Greenland that's very cool all the best to you andrick thank you so much for for joining us yeah also thank you for me