[OrangeHoof]

"This is (was?) Iceland's most fertile farmland"

And now you know why. Rich nutrients belched up from the earth. Give it two years and it will be back to very fertile farmland.

[brityank]

Rich nutrients belched up from the earth. Give it two years and it will be back to very fertile farmland.

True. But meanwhile the livestock dies off and the people vacate, taking their skills with them. Not good for the continuation of their society.

[Buffalo Head]

It will not take that long.

The same kind of fear mongering was present right after the Mt. St. Helens eruption in Washington state three decades ago. The volcanic ash didn't seem to affect farm land or crops either way. It is pretty much inert with respect to agriculture. Life goes on.