According to Tike's second advance estimate, the harvest outlook is bright at the start of the threshing season. The grain crop may reach 4 billion kilograms, which is approx. 250 million kilograms more than in the previous year. The final harvest statistics will be completed in January 2008, but Tike (Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) will publish an advance notification on the figures in November 2007.

Rye crop may reach 90 million kilograms - the import of rye will decrease

In recent years, rye has been the most important cereal imported to Finland. According to the crop estimate, the rye crop (89 million kg) will grow by 38 million kilograms from the year before, which will diminish the need to import rye. The wheat crop (755 million kg) will be 70 million kilograms larger than last year. Of the wheat crop, the share of winter wheat will be approx. one fifth, i.e. 145 million kilograms. The winter wheat crop will more than double from the previous year.


Oats crop 1,240 million kilograms - the need to export oats will grow


Oats are Finland's second-most important feed grain after barley. Oats are also the main cereal grown for the export market in Finland. The estimated oats crop (1,244 million kg) is approx. 200 million kilograms larger than last year's crop. If the feed usage of oats does not increase, its export opportunities will grow.

The barley crop is estimated at 1,895 million kilograms. Barley is our principal feed grain. The barley crop will fall by 77 million kilograms from last year, mainly as a result of a decrease in the area under cultivation.


Turnip rape crop will fall by one quarter from last year


According to the harvest estimate, turnip rape is the only crop whose yield per hectare seems to remain smaller than the average crop in the past ten years. A flee beetle attack hampered the growth of turnip rape early in the spring. The turnip rape crop is expected to be 104 million kilograms, which is 24% less than last year.


Sugar beet crop may fall by 40%


The sugar beet crop will fall the most - by as much as 40% from last year, mainly as a result of a decrease in the cultivated area. At the moment, the harvest estimate for sugar beet is 567 million kilograms. The crop volumes of the sugar beet and potato will be significantly affected by growth conditions during the remaining growing season.


Tike's second advance crop estimate illustrates the situation of 24 August. Both advance crop estimates, the one published on 26 July and the one published on 31 August, are based on estimates created by the local experts of ProAgria Rural Advisory Centres in their own areas. The municipality-specific estimates are based on visual observations and local expertise. The data on the areas under crop varieties have been obtained from support application forms submitted by farmers. Nearly 100% of these data had been recorded by 23 August 2007. The final crop calculation will be based on information to be given by farmers.


Additional information

Anneli Partala, Researcher, Tel. +358 20 77 21376
Mirva Kokkinen, Researcher, Tel. +358 20 77 21371
The format of e-mail address is firstname.lastname@mmmtike.fi