2019 sees 30 years highest rye harvest
Published : 25 Nov 2019, 02:54
Following a few years of lower yields, barley, oat and rye harvests returned to the average level, according to the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).
The rye harvest was expected to be high after the rye area increased a year ago. This year’s rye harvest is four times larger than in 2018, said a Luke press release.
“This year’s normal cereal harvest compensates for the fodder cereal situation on many domestic animal farms following last year’s low yields. The record-high silage feed harvest also ensures that there is enough green fodder for the next harvest season,” said Anneli Partala, senior statistician of Luke.
The rye harvest was as high as between the 1950s and the 1970s. Since then, the rye harvest has only been this high in few separate years.
In recent decades, the consumption of rye in Finland has stabilised at roughly a few hundred million kilos. This means that the harvest of 180 million kilos easily covers rye consumption, unlike in the previous years.
Weather conditions during the growth season affected yields differently in different parts of Finland. Yields per hectare of all cereals were record high in Ostrobothnia. However, yields per hectare in Uusimaa were clearly below country-wide averages, which is highly unusual.
Organic farming has expanded in Finland in recent years, and many field crops produced record-breaking yields. Oat is the most widely cultivated organic cereal, and its yields increased by nearly 70%. The organic oat harvest of roughly 77 million kilos accounts for 6.5% of Finland’s total oat harvest of 1.2 billion kilos.
The green fodder harvest has been low during the past few years, whereas this year’s harvest was higher. In addition, green fodder has taken over larger portions of the cultivation area in recent years. Under the favourable weather conditions in 2019, the silage feed harvest increased by a quarter from the previous year.