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Knut Ødegaard from Leira in Valdres has been free-roaming mountain pigs in Stølsvidda in Valdres for thirteen years. Together with his wife Ragnhild Mobæk, he has built a lifetime’s work around pigs.
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But this fall he feared that it was all in vain.
– I thought we were done. That we could never sell a single piece of meat and that we had to emigrate from the village, says Ødegaard.
FAMILY BUSINESS: Knut Ødegaard along with the family and some of the more than a thousand pigs who lived a free life in the mountains in the summer of 2020.
Photo: Geir Randby / nrk
Several pigs died
In mid-September, six dead pigs were discovered in the mountains. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority created a case that is still ongoing.
Department Head Astrid Ham from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority explains that there are three main approaches to the case for them:
– We observe conditions such as animal welfare, animal health and food safety. We have a good dialogue with the farmer in this case, he says.
He says that what has happened in the animal husbandry in the mountains is a serious violation of the Animal Welfare Law. He does not want to comment on what consequences the case may have for the farmer, but says the situation is more under control now that the pigs have come down from the mountains.
– Since the total urgency on animal welfare here is over, it is this with food safety and animal health that we are seeing now, says Astrid Ham.
Knut Ødegaard, for his part, says he cooperates well with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.
– They are very professional and easy to deal with, both locally and regionally. They follow us closely and that’s good, he says.
Too many pigs
The farmer says the problem started when salmonella was discovered in one of the pigs during a routine check at the slaughterhouse.
This meant that there was a complete stop to the slaughter for more than seven weeks. When salmonella is detected in animals to be used for food, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority has implemented restrictions and sampling according to its own instructions. The reason is that salmonella is not common in Norway and therefore it is natural to implement strict measures when it is discovered.
At the same time that this was happening, more than 1000 pigs were coming down the mountain. So it piled up, both on the mountain and on the Øygarden farm.
And in the mountain it began to be cold.
– There were too many pigs and the workload was too great for one man. I should have asked for help earlier, Ødegaard says.
TOGETHER IN CRISIS: Knut Ødegaard and Ragnhild Mobæk have been through many difficult times this fall. Now they see a better future.
Photo: Arne Sørenes / NRK
He spoke of working hours of up to 20 hours a day and saw no end.
His wife Ragnhild Mobæk talks about a difficult time.
– It has gone from bad to worse all fall. In the end, it went completely wrong and it hurts to stand.
Hard to get help
Knut Ødegaard is aware that it is his responsibility that the animals died.
– I hadn’t planned well enough for the situation that arose. And that’s just my fault. I’m really sorry about that. Besides, it was too late to ask for help.
It was difficult for him to ask for help and he wanted to fend for himself. But when the Øygarden couple finally tried to get help through various agricultural actors, they were more desperate.
Hard time: Ragnhild Mobæk said the workload got too great and they were left behind with everything. Both the animals and the customers of the online store were not followed well enough.
Photo: Arne Sørenes / NRK
Ragnhild and I sat together and tried to figure out who we could call. But cork Bondelaget or avløysarringen had good responses for the choirs we could go to, says Ødegaard.
They themselves had never needed help before, but they thought things were more in order.
– It has long been our focus on mental health in agriculture. It’s very disturbing that the system and routines that were thought to be in place don’t work, says Ragnhild Mobæk.
Post on Facebook
After dead pigs were found on the mountain, the Øygarden couple learned that they had to tell people how they were doing. One long post on Facebook changed everything.
What they thought would end in cancellations and even the opposite hook on the door.
Ødegaard posted this on his Facebook page.
Ødegård published this post on his Facebook page.
Feedback flowed.
– People showed sympathy and understanding, says Raghild Mobæk. They wrote that they understood that this could happen in a situation like the one we were in. It was unbelievably good.
People wanted wild pigs at the Christmas table and several volunteered to help out on the farm.
– Friends started contacting us and they wondered why we hadn’t said it before, said Knut Ødegaard. Then came a group of volunteers and many excellent people from Etnedal who wanted to take a position. People I didn’t know. It was absolutely amazing.
MY RESPONSIBILITY: It was my fault the pigs died, says Knut Ødegaard. Now a future awaits the brand “Fjellgris från Valdres”.
Photo: Arne Sørenes / nrk
After a quarter of an hour, the municipal doctor also showed up and the couple contacted the municipal mental health care.
Now they have gotten work help on the farm and see a slightly better future.
– But we still have to arrange the last things with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. And it will be very busy days until Christmas. But it will work, Ødegaard says.
Next year, his goal is to have fewer pigs in the mountains and a better system to deal with crises.
– And then I have to be better to ask for help if I need it. Because the largest animal in the village does not sit in the village, it sits inside the farmer’s head, it smiles.
Not a good enough system
Kristina Hegge is the county leader in the former Oppland Farmers Association. She says a better system is needed to be able to help farmers who are struggling, after that we have several such cases in the interior.
– As it stands today, it will be good for random choirs to work in different places depending on how good the individual farmer has, he says.
SHEEP FARMER AND FARM TEAM LEADER: Kristina Hegge is a camper for the Oppland Farmers’ Association. He runs a sheep farm from his home in Biri.
Photo: Arne Sørenes / NRK
Therefore, the farmer team is now working together with Innlandet Fylkeskommune and Norsk Landbruksrådgivning to implement a model that ensures that farmers in need of help are cared for in the same way.
– We must ensure that the system works so that it does not depend on people for help. Because there is help, he adds, although it can be difficult to see when you are in the middle of a problem.
