Farmers in South Iceland are not letting the thick layer of ash coating their land disturb them unduly. Read the full story

There has not been as much volcanic ash falling in Iceland since the Katla eruption of 1918 and that eruption caused many farmers’ entire stock of animals to die. Read the full story

The Danish government’s new agricultural platform, aimed at helping farmers, has been questioned by industry experts who see the move as potentially damaging to agricultural efficiency. Read the full story

Icelandic agriculture has seldom, if ever, been held in as high regard by the nation as it is now, according to the head of the Icelandic Farmers’ Union. Read the full story

Market gardeners in Iceland distributed vegetables outside parliament yesterday as part of their protest at the high cost of electricity. The protest was timed to coincide with a parliamentary debate about greenhouse farmers and the increasing cost of electricity. Read the full story

The Supreme Court of Iceland yesterday sentenced a farmer to pay ISK 2 million plus interest to a young woman hurt by a cow with a newborn calf in 2002.

The girl, who was 14 at the time, was injured when the cow gored and trampled her shortly after giving birth to a calf. The girl has suffered back complaints ever since and is considered 5 percent physically disabled. Read the full story

Norwegian black-metal legend Varg Vikernes, who also calls himself Count Grishnackh, will be released from prison after serving his 16-year sentence for murder. Claiming that prison has rehabilitated him, Vikernes will now be free to prove himself right. Read the full story

A rather unusual lamb was born yesterday on Hlidartungu Farm in the Olfus region of southern Iceland. While most of the lamb’s features were perfectly normal, the fact that it had two heads certainly was not. Read the full story

A new report released by the Norwegian agricultural research institute, the Norsk institutt for landbruksøkonomisk forskning (NILF), shows that organic farmers in Norway are quitting at unprecedented rates. Excessive bureaucracy and paperwork are being cited as the main reasons why organic farmers are giving up, reports Aftenposten.no.

The biggest obstacle to farming organically in Norway stems from government red tape when farmers try to register their operations. “You get the feeling you’re not being trusted,” says former organic farmer Turid Wenche Åsum.

Åsum is among the many farmers in Norway who have recently decided to return to conventional commercial farming. Although she still runs her farm as environmentally friendly as possible, Åsum is frustrated by the excessive documentation needed to receive ecological certification.

The reduction in organic farmers comes at a time when consumer demand in Norway is fast increasing. Norwegian farmers are being encouraged by the government to expand their organic operations, even setting the goal that 15 per cent of all Norwegian commercial agriculture should be ecological by 2015.

Despite this call, the organic farming industry is waning. Maiken Pollestad Sele of the farmers’ organic trade association Oikos, says “the government needs to look more closely at the problems the farmers face if they really intend to achieve their production goals.”