News and press releases

The Yearbook of Farm Statistics, published by Tike, is a 269-page compilation that comprehensively summarises statistics closely related to agriculture and the agricultural sector in Finland. The data in the new publication is mainly from 2010, but it also contains time series that cover periods of up to 40 years. Important international agricultural statistics have been included in the latter half of the book.

The fourth release of the 2010 Agricultural Census information addresses the advance information provided by production method research on livestock buildings, manure handling and storage, as well as grazing. Statistics related to these themes illustrate the current status of agricultural production, the wellbeing of animals and environmental protection.

According to advance information in Tike's harvest statistics, the total grain harvest in 2011 is about 3.7 billion kilograms. The grain harvest increased by 25% (about 755 million kilograms) from the previous year. The cultivation areas and yield per hectare of all grains increased from 2010. The production of barley and wheat increased the most. The wheat harvest of more than 980 million kilograms is the largest ever in Finland.

The autumn grain harvest in 2011 was average, but the wheat harvest was large. Most of the wheat and rye met the quality requirements for bread grain. The hectolitre weight of feed grain was small. There was extensive quality variation between and within regions. The information is included in a summary based on grain harvest information of the Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Tike), and on the analysis results of grain quality monitoring performed by the Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira.

At mid-October, the amount of food potato in stock totalled 221 million kilos, exceeding last autumn's amount by 21 million kilos. The total volume of potatoes stocked for the purpose of direct consumption and the food processing industry reached 274 million kilos. The data is based on statistics on potato farms’ food potato stocks compiled by Tike (the Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland) twice a year.

A production method survey was for the first time conducted in connection with Agricultural Census 2010 in order to collect data on energy consumption, irrigation, field cultivation and animal husbandry. The survey covered some 14,000 agricultural and horticultural enterprises, i.e. every fifth farm in Finland. Of the replies obtained from the farms, results accounting for all the farms in Finland were estimated, and data on field cultivation will be published first.

The grain crop in 2010, 3 billion kilograms, was about a third smaller than in 2009. The harvests of wheat and oats exceeded domestic consumption, while in barley production the situation is the opposite. All grain stocks were reduced; mainly barley, as a result of diminishing production and growing exports.

The grain crop this year is expected to be 3.6 billion kilograms. Although the figure is the second smallest since 2000, it is still 20 percent more than last year. The largest crop since 2000 was harvested two years ago (4.3 billion kilograms) and the smallest last year (3.0 billion kilograms). The average yield per hectare is estimated to be slightly above the ten year average.

The statistical publications From Farm to Fork 2010 and the Yearbook of Farm Statistics 2010 are now available for downloading free of charge at the Matilda Agricultural Statistics service.

  In the crop year, the cereal industry and traders purchased a total of 1.8 billion kilos of cereals from farms, which equals 60 per cent of the crop yield of last summer. The industrial use of domestic and foreign cereals totalled 1.4 billion kilos in the crop year, which is one-half of last summer’s crop yield.