The hot summer of 2010 in Finland produced small crops with a high protein content and small and light kernels. The protein content and kernel size directly influence the usability of grain. The information is obtained from Tike’s (Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) final crops data and the Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira’s quality monitoring for grain.

More than half of wheat suitable for use as bread grain
Of autumn’s wheat yield of 720 million kilograms, around 485 million kilograms met the quality criteria to be used in bread. The overall yield consisted of 636 million kilograms of spring wheat and 88 million kilograms of  winter wheat. The average falling number for the winter wheat was the highest since Finland joined the EU in 1995, and for the spring wheat the highest since 1997. The protein density of spring-sown wheat was also high and the hectolitre weight was good on average. There were significant variations in quality between and within the regions.

More than 90 per cent of the rye yield of 70 million kilograms was suitable for use as bread grain, whereas in the previous year only around half the yield fulfilled the bread grain quality criteria. The rye crops in Southern Finland were almost entirely suitable as bread grain, and even in Ostrobothnia the equivalent proportion exceeded 80 per cent.  

A quarter of malting barley fulfilled the quality criteria for protein and kernel size
Only slightly less than a quarter or 55 million kilograms of the malting barley yield of 244 million kilograms fulfilled the criteria for protein and kernel size. The suitable amount was one tenth of that of the previous year.

The hectolitre weight of feed grain was low, oats were fine-grained
Approximately half of the barley yield had a hectolitre weight of more than 64 kilograms, whereas a year earlier the proportion exceeded 80 per cent. The protein content was higher and the starch content lower than in the previous years.  

The hectolitre weight of oats was the lowest in more than twenty years. 71 per cent of the oats yield exceeded the minimum hectolitre weight of 52 kilograms generally applied in feed production. Only 3 per cent of the yield exceeded the minimum hectolitre weight of 58 kilograms generally required for milling quality oats. In the previous year, 27 per cent of the yield met the requirements for quality oats. In addition, the kernel size of oats was the smallest since Finland joined the EU. The protein content of oats was high.

Background for crops and quality information
This press release combines Tike’s crop production statistics and Evira’s grain quality survey information for 2010. Tike studied the crops information by means of a sample study covering approximately 5,900 farms. Evira contacted approximately 1,700 of these farms to ask for grain samples for studying the quality of the crops. Approximately 5,600 farms replied to Tike’s crops survey, and Evira received grain samples from approximately 650 farms. In the statistics, the sown areas are corrected by subtracting the completely destroyed sown area reported by the farmers to the authorities as well as the area harvested as fresh crops.

Tables related to the statistics are published in Matilda, the agricultural statistics service, on the home page of the Crop Production Statistics.


For additional information, please contact:
Harvest information on the cereal crop
Tike, Statistical Services
Researcher Anneli Partala, tel. 020 77 21 376
Researcher Mirva Kokkinen, tel. 020 77 21 371
Head of Unit Esa Katajamäki, tel. 020 77 21 237
The e-mail addresses are in the format: firstname.lastname@mmmtike.fi
www.mmmtike.fi

Grain quality information
Evira
Head of Unit Mirja Kartio, tel. 020 77 25090
Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, Plant Analysis Laboratory
The e-mail addresses are in the format: firstname.lastname@evira.fi
www.evira.fi