Iceland review - 2013, Page 58

56 ICELAND REVIEW
photo By Stefán pálSSon
t he guys say that I farm with my tele-
phone,” laughs Árni Ingólfur Hafstað.
With four jobs, Árni spends a fair
share of his time on the road. Aside from
the dairy farm Útvík near Sauðárkrókur
in Skagafjörður, North Iceland, he and his
wife Birgitte Bærendtsen, originally from
Denmark, also run the brewery Gæðingur
Öl ehf. and Microbar in Reykjavík. To add to
this, Árni works as a hearing therapist, travel-
ing the country measuring people’s hearing.
Efficiency and multi-tasking are essential,
Árni says. “I can take care of a lot just using
the telephone and computer. In between
appointments I usually have ten minutes or
so and I can sometimes go online to check if
something needs to be done,” he says, adding
that he worked as a speech therapist for five
years before switching to hearing therapy.
“But, I’m more of a salesman these days. I
measure people’s hearing and offer them a
hearing aid. I then go back and check on
them later.”
At Útvík farm in North
Iceland’s Skagafjörður
region, beer and milk
go hand in hand.
something’s
Brewing
BY Zoë RoBeRt
PHOTOS BY ÁsLaug snoRRadóttiR