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.

The area of cultivated land for bread grains remained stable – dry weather reduced the yield by 15%
Most domestically cultivated bread grain production is wheat, with more than 700 000 tonnes of the crop produced this year.  Rye production amounted to less than a tenth of total wheat production, as the rye yield totalled less than 70 000 tonnes. Production of wheat was down 19 per cent on 2009, whereas the yield of rye jumped more than 60 per cent in comparison to last year. The combined cultivated area of wheat and rye even grew slightly (2%) in comparison to 2009, but the quantity of the yield was nevertheless down 15% in the same period. The reason for the decreased size of the harvest was the low per-hectare yield of spring-sown grains resulting from an exceptionally dry summer. The autumn-sown winter grains – winter rye and winter wheat – did not suffer as much from the dry summer.

The yield of feed grains fell by 35%
Barley is the most important feed grain in Finnish livestock production.  This summer’s barley yield – 1.3 million tonnes – was almost 40% smaller than in 2009. The yield of malting barley fell even more, by some 60%. Malting barley accounted for around a fifth (240 000 tonnes) of all barley. A quarter less barley was sown during this year’s spring than during the previous spring. A smaller autumn yield is explained by both the smaller area of sown land and a fall in the per-hectare yield from 3,860 kilograms to 3,210 kilograms.

The yield of oats was also reduced by a smaller area of sown land (-14%) and a lower per-hectare yield (-16%). At around 800 000 tonnes, the total oats yield is 28% smaller than in 2009.

It is increasingly common in Finland for feed grains to be harvested green. This summer, grains harvested green accounted for around 5% of all land cultivated for grains. The major part of it was barley, oats and mixed grain.

Despite a low per-hectare yield, the yield of turnip rape was at an all-time high
The yield of turnip rape and oilseed rape – almost 180 000 tonnes – was the largest ever. The overall yield was large because the area of land sown with turnip rape and oilseed rape – 158,000 hectares – almost doubled from last year. However, the yield-per-hectare (1,130 kilograms) was down by more than a quarter on last year, which means that during a normal summer the yield would have been much greater.

The potato yield shrank 14%
The yield-per-hectare of potatoes was around a tenth smaller than last year. The overall potato yield, 650 000 tonnes, was down by around 14% on last year, while the area of cultivated land also shrank slightly. The sugar beet yield would appear to have remained at last year’s level, since this year’s sum of 570 million kilograms is almost the same as last year’s. This year farmers were asked about the yield of broad beans for the first time, as cultivated area for this crop climbed to almost 10,000 hectares. The broad bean yield was around 16 000 tonnes or slightly more than the yield of peas, which was around 13 000 tonnes.

This is preliminary data on the final crop production statistics which will be published on 24 February 2011. Crop production statistics are based on data provided by farmers. The data was gathered over the phone from around 5,500 farmers. The total area of cultivated crops is calculated by tallying the amount of cultivated area declared by farmers in support application forms and reducing it by the amount of land with recorded crop failure.

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

For additional information, please contact:
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
Tike, Statistical Services
The e-mail addresses are in the format: firstname.lastname@mmmtike.fi