Slide1: Industrial Farming in Finland Jaana Marttila Finnish Association for Nature Conservation CCB Seminar 17 December 2006


Slide2: Is there industrial farming in Finland? 1995 2004 Field area (ha) 2 141 000 2 219 000 Farms 100 000 72 100 -livestock 50 000 27 000 -plant production 42 300 41 700 -others 7 300 3 700 Field area /farm (ha) 21,7 31,4 Animals /livestock -cattle 1 148 000 969 000 -pigs 1 400 000 1 365 000 -poultry 10 358 000 10 405 000 -sheep 159 000 109 000 -horses 50 000 60 000 J. Marttila 17 Dec 2006


Slide3: When environmental permits/licences are needed? If there are places for 30 dairy cows 80 head of cattle (meat production) 60 sows (mature) 210 pigs (meat production) 60 horses or ponies 160 sheep or goats 2 700 chickens (egg production) 10 000 chickens (meat production) and when -the amount of phosphorus in manure or -the environmental effects are similar with 210 pigs Also limits for fur farming: environmental effects of 250 minks. J. Marttila 17 Dec 2006


Slide4: Water quality of lakes, rivers and sea areas, 2000-2003 -old water quality criteria: how suitable the water is for water supply, recreation,... -criteria will be renewed: WFD and ecological state -agriculture concentrates to the western and southern parts of Finland -agricultural areas: only few lakes, water quality mainly satisfactory, passable or poor -leaching of nutrients, organic matter and soil particles from agriculture, scattered settlement, forestry and peat production Picture: Finnish Environment Institute J. Marttila 17 Dec 2006


Slide5: J. Marttila 17 Dec 2006 Lakes and fields in Finland Fields: red Lakes: blue Graph: Kallio, K. Finnish Environment Institute Risk of erosion Graph: Turtola, E. andamp; Lemola, R. Agrifood Research Finland Risk of erosion (1 = highest risk)


Slide6: Risks and problems of effective agriculture Nutrient input -fertilizers: enrichment of nutrients, risk of leaching -animal feeds: more nutrients to manure Erosion -no vegetation cover: risk of nutrient leaching, risk of erosion Concentration -too many farms in same area: concentration of manure, concentration of nutrients, growing risk of leaching Monoculture -soil texture and structure: risk of soil degradation J. Marttila 17 Dec 2006


Slide7: Nutrient balances – controlling the nutrient flows? FARM Nutrient input -feeds -animals -fertilizers -seeds Nutrient output -animals -animal products (milk, meat,...) -manure output -crop (sold) Runoff Livestock Manure Fields Crop J. Marttila 17 Dec 2006


Slide8: Nutrient balance = input – output Nutrient balance of field = input – output -Nutrient input: • fertilizers • manure, etc. • seeds -Nutrient output: • crop • straws, etc. IF COLLECTED Nutrient balance of farm = input – output -Nutrient input: • fertilizers, animal feeds • manure? • seeds, animals -Nutrient output: • crop, straws,... (sold) • animals and animal products (sold) • manure? J. Marttila 17 Dec 2006


Slide9: Nitrogen balance (kg/ha) in Finland 1985-2004 Information: Salo, T. - Agrifood Research Finland J. Marttila 17 Dec 2006


Slide10: Phosphorus balance (kg/ha) in Finland 1985-2004 Information: Salo, T. - Agrifood Research Finland J. Marttila 17 Dec 2006


Slide11: Farming in the future Farms will be bigger -more animals /farm -more area /farm Farming concentrates to certain areas -risks for monoculture, plant diseases, soil degradation, erosion, nutrient leaching, etc. are getting higher -too much manure in some areas (overload of nutrients), no manure in other areas (how to get organic matter to the fields?) -can agricultural policy stop concentration? What are the limits? -agriculture is already effective: production/animal and crops/ha are big -where are we going and what are the limits for agricultural production? What do we need? -control of nutrient flows, control of erosion, and control of concentration -realistic and sensible agriculture, professional farmers -conversation and co-operation between farmers and water protectors J. Marttila 17 Dec 2006


Slide12: Thank you! Finnish Association for Nature Concervation Kotkankatu 9 FIN 00510 Helsinki Finland tel. +358 (0)9 228 081 www.sll.fi