Search: 2010

According to preliminary data on crop production statistics from Tike, the yield of grain crops will total 3 million tonnes. In addition to dried grain, 0.2 million tonnes of fresh grain were harvested in our grain fields. The yield of grain crops was down 1.3 million tonnes in comparison to last year. The yield of bread grains (rye and wheat) decreased 15% while the yield of feed grains (barley and oats) fell by almost 35%. Dry weather took its toll on per-hectare yields, whereas a reduction in the total area of cultivated land reduced the yield of feed grains. Crop production data will be finalised in February 2011 when Tike publishes its final crop production statistics for 2010.

A dry summer produced a small yield of grains but also lifted protein density in all grain crops to high levels. The amount of millable wheat rose to a six-year-high of around 480 million kilograms. The falling number for wheat was the highest since 1997. At around 60 million kilograms, the yield of malting barley was smaller this year as a result of high protein density and a weak overall yield. The quality of feed grains was weakened by a low hectolitre weight and the small kernel size of oats. Of the almost-70-million-kilogram yield of rye, more than 90 per cent was suitable as bread grain.

Food potato stocks in mid-October totalled 200 million kilograms, 24 million kilograms lower than the previous year. This is the third time that Tike – the Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry – has published statistics for on-farm food potato stocks in Finland.

Tike (the Information Centre of the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) has completed the cereals balance sheet for the crop year 2009 – 2010. The good grain harvest in 2009 (4.2 million tonnes), which was the third good harvest in a row, increased Finland’s grain stockpiles at the end of the crop year to a level corresponding to annual consumption. Thus domestic needs would have been covered until late June or early July of next year, even without the 2010 crops. At the end of June, the amount of stockpiled grain, 2.8 million tonnes, was almost 860 000 tonnes higher than a year earlier.

According to the second preliminary crop estimate from Tike, the grain crops will shrink to 2.9 billion kilograms. In mid-July, the crop estimate was slightly higher, approximately 3.1 billion kilograms. The reduced area of land used for grain and the low harvest yield decrease the grain crops by a third from 2009, and the grain harvest will be the smallest in a decade. This crop estimate is based on estimates created by the experts at ProAgria Centres, and it will be specified on 23 November when crop information from farmers will be available.

According to the first preliminary crop estimate from Tike, the grain crops to be harvest this autumn in Finland are smallest in ten years. The grain crops is estimated to be only 3.1 billion kilograms. The reduced area of land used for grain and the lower than average harvest yield will cause the grain crops remain up to 28% smaller than in 2009. The turnip rape crop will instead reach a record-breaking high. The anticipated crop is 68% higher than last year’s turnip rape crop. The next preliminary crop estimate will be published on 2 September.

According to the preliminary figures in Tike's (Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) Balance Sheet for Food Commodities, Finnish people consumed on average 80 kg of cereals, 71 kg of vegetables, 79 kg of fruit and 74 kg of meat last year. The Balance Sheet for Food Commodities compiled annually by Tike is a summary of the production, domestic use and consumption of the most important food groups in Finland.

Total production of organic grain remained on a par with the previous year. According to the data collected by Tike (the Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry), production of organic grain totalled 76 million kg in 2009, representing 2% of Finnish grain production. Organic turnip rape and pea production saw year-on-year growth. The statistics include organic broad beans for the first time.

According to the subsidy applications of the farmers the grain cultivation area this year is the smallest in 15 years and turnip rape area is the larger than ever before. Other significant changes are also expected in the arable area. Besides farmers own sowing decisions the final use of arable land in Finland is affected by capricious spring weather. Heavy rain and hail storms have destroyed some sowings at least in Southwest Finland in spring 2010. Tike will publish the next advance information on use of arable land of summer 2010 on 22 June, when information pertaining to particular areas will also be available.

This year marks a hundred years since the first agricultural census. In honour of the jubilee year, the interesting history of agricultural censuses is collected in the web at www.maatalouslaskenta.fi

The Farm Register 2009 has now been published. The publication contains statistical information on the number of farms, their ownership, production sectors, land use, cultivated areas, the structure of livestock production and farmers.

According to Tike’s (Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) horticultural statistics for 2009, open-field vegetable production was exceptionally high. The berry crop was also good last year. The production of greenhouse vegetables returned to a normal level after breaking records in 2008.

About 384 million kilos of meat was produced in 2009, which is four per cent less than in 2008. Beef production rose slightly on 2008, and beef producer prices continued to rise. After eight years of growth, 2009 saw a downswing in pork and poultry production. Pork and poultry producer prices also fell. These figures are based on the latest statistics compiled by Tike (Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry).

2009 saw an upswing in milk production, which increased by one per cent to 2,264 million litres. At the same time, milk producer prices fell by 10 per cent. Fewer eggs were produced in 2009 than in 2008, and egg producer prices also fell. These figures are based on the latest statistics compiled by Tike (Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry).

Tike examines the trend in the number of farms, their arable area, production sectors and farmers in its annual Farm Structure statistics. The data for the statistics is sourced from the Farm Register. In 2009, farms with more than 100 hectares already accounted for a quarter of Finland’s arable area. Young farmers operated the largest farms.

In 2009, trade, industry and the Agency for Rural Affairs’ Intervention Unit purchased a total of 2 billion kilos of cereals from farms. Industry used a total of 1.3 billion kilos of domestic and imported cereals.

A record amount of food and processed food potatoes was produced last summer, 452 million kilos. In mid-October, on-farm stocks of food potatoes amounted to 225 million kilos. However, by mid-January, on-farm stocks had dwindled at a faster rate than in the previous year, amounting to 132 million kilos on 15 January.

The advance information Tike released in November 2009 included most of the harvest statistics data. The now-completed final Crop Production Statistics did not deviate greatly from the advance estimate. Historical data on grain harvests is also available: Findikaattori (www.findikaattori.fi, in Finnish and Swedish only) contains data on all recorded grain harvests in Finland since 1920. Historical data and even more information on the statistics will also be available from February onwards from Matilda, Tike’s overhauled online information service (www.agriculturalstatstics.fi).

The autumn 2009 wheat harvest broke records. However, the protein content of the harvest was low, and thus only a third of it fulfilled the quality requirements set for bread wheat. Of the malting barley harvest, 86 per cent fulfilled the requirements in terms of grain size and protein content. The average hectolitre weight of the feed grain crop was good, but its protein content fell short of the ten-year average.