Nykänen, Arja (2005) Research program for organic food and farming in Finland. Paper presented at Researching sustainable systems : first scientific conference of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), held in cooperation with IFOAM and NASAA, Adelaide, South Australia, 21-23 September 2005, page pp. 485-488. International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), Bonn; Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick.

RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR ORGANIC FOOD AND FARMING IN FINLAND
Arja Nykänen
MTT Agrifood Research, Ecological Production, Huttulantie 1, 51900 Juva, Finland, tel. +358 15 321 230,
e-mail: arja.nykanen@mtt.fi Internet: www.mtt.fi/english/research/environment/ecological.html
Key Words: Trifolium pratense, grazing, suckler cows, dairy cows, pathogens, Phytophthora infestans,
recycling, soil fertility, local food, environmental efficiency, consumers, food chain, cooperation
Abstract
The Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry started a three-year Research Programme on Organic Food
and Farming in 2003. The programme consists of 15 projects on different themes covering the whole food
chain and has an annual budget of about 2.2 MEUR. All ongoing projects on organic food and farming in
Finland can be found at the web site http://www.agronet.fi/luotu/eng/index.htm
Introduction
In Finland, 7.6 % of the total arable area and 6.9 % of the farms were fully organic or in conversion in 2004,
with 12.8 % of the organic farms having animal production. The Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry (MAF) has set a target to increase the area under organic farming to 15 % of the total area of arable
land by 2010.
The volume of research in organic agriculture has been at the level of 2.5 MEUR annually in recent years.
The main financial efforts in organic farming research has been supported by the Finnish Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) either through the budgets of its research institutes (mainly MTT Agrifood
Research Finland) or by financing research projects from its non-preallocated research budget. The
Academy of Finland and Tekes - the National Technology Agency - have also supported research in organic
farming, but only in a small number of projects.
Main research centres carrying out research on Organic Food and Farming in Finland are MTT Agrifood
Research Finland (www.mtt.fi/english/ ), Helsinki University (www.helsinki.fi/university/ ), National
Consumer Research Centre (www.kuluttajatutkimuskeskus.fi/english/index.html ) andVTT Technical
Research Centre of Finland (www.vtt.fi/vtt/inbrief/ ).
In 2003, MAF started a three-year Research Programme on Organic Food and Farming with 15 projects on
the topics: Quality and risks of organic food, Consumer oriented product development, Maintenance of soil
fertility, Safe recycling of organic waste, Improved production of organic milk and meat, Animal welfare
and organic farming, Local food systems, and Role of organic farming in multifunctional and pluriactive
agriculture. The annual budget for this programme is about 1.1 MEUR from MAF with a further estimated
1.1 MEUR coming from the budgets of the institutes involved in these projects.
Plant production and soil quality
Under this theme, there are six projects: ‘Control of potato late blight by caraway oil in organic farming’,
‘Disease management in organic seed potato production’, ‘Red clover efficiently into organically produced
milk’, ‘Development of meat-bone meal as organic fertilizer’, ‘Waste composts in organic crop production –
future risks and possibilities’ and ‘On-farm soil quality assessment’.
Potato late blight, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans (P.i), is the main factor determining the
length of the growing season for organic potato, by killing the canopy. In Finland there are currently no
compounds available for direct blight control in organic production. Caraway (Carum carvi) seeds contain
biologically active essential oils, which have shown potential as a biocontrol against potato late blight. The
project includes experiments on the extraction of caraway oil, formulation and efficiency. In field
conditions, caraway oil has delayed the onset of late blight for about 10-14 days. Changing towards more
diverse crop rotations and better control of nitrogen release can delay the onset of blight epidemics
considerably. Increasing row spacing and mechanical defoliation have very limited value in blight control.
Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is the most common fodder legume in Finnish organic grasslands. The
persistence of clover is often poor after the second production year. The focus in the project is to provide
tools for farmers to choose the best red clover varieties for their fields, based on yield production, resistance
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to pathogens and over-wintering. Plant physiological, molecular biological and statistical methods are used.
The spatial variation of soil characteristics, nitrogen fixation of red clover and yield of clover-grass leys are
studied also. The over-wintering of a red clover variety seems to be essential for persistence of a red clover
sward. A variety which might not be the most productive at the beginning of growth but accumulates
nitrogen and carbon in its roots, seems to be the most persistent and most productive in the long run.
Fourteen Fusarium strains were collected from swards and only one could infect red clover, being able to
penetrate the clover cells. The variation within a field of the yield and clover content of a red clover-grass
sward can be surprisingly high. Very preliminary results show a slight correlation between sward yield and
some soil characteristics, such as pH, potassium, manganese, cobalt, copper, molybdenum and iron.
Recirculation of nutrients from municipalities back to the fields is one aim of organic farming. Organic
wastes such as composted waste from municipalities and meat/bone meal are often considered unwanted
material because of possible contamination by heavy metals and microbiological risks. In Finland it is not
permitted to use them in organic production at the moment, but their fertilizer value and risks of use are
being studied in two projects. Biowaste composts were tested in one field experiment as a fertilizer for
potato and cereals. The microbiological quality (Salmonella, Coliforms, Colifages, Clostridia) of the
composts was analysed as well as the nutrients and heavy metals. Meat/bone meal was studied as a fertilizer
for cereals on farms. According to the microbiological and chemical analyses, all the tested composts were
suitable for use as plant fertilizers. However, quite large amounts of compost are needed to satisfy the
nutritional demands of plants. Farmers who used meat/bone meal as a fertilizer for cereals were quite
satisfied with it, but spreading the greasy and fine material was problematic on many farms. Farmers would
have liked a pelleted or pilled form of the meat/bone meal. The fertilization effect was clearly visible on
their fields.
At present, testing of soil fertility is based on chemical analysis. Organic farming is dependent on
biologically-mediated processes and the function of the whole soil system. Therefore soil quality should be
seen as the soil's ability to function, depending on the intended usage. A practical soil quality test for onfarm
use is being developed by modifying an existing soil quality test kit to make it suitable for Finnish
conditions. See more: Nykänen et al. 2005a.
Animal husbandry and food safety
Under this theme, there are five projects: ‘Red clover efficiently into organically produced milk’, ‘Quality
beef with efficient suckler cow production’, ‘Emerging food-borne pathogens (EHEC) in primary
production’, ‘Risk assessment on food safety risks in organic pork production: pathogenic Yersinia and
Listeria monocytogenes’ and ‘Organic egg production: management of animal welfare and food safety’.
Organic milk production is largely dependent on the supply of nutrients from forage. The most important
forage legume in Finland is red clover (Trifolium pratense). More information is needed to improve the
determination of the energy and protein values of red clover and to measure the nutrient supply and milk
production responses of dairy cows on diets containing red clover. The energy and protein values of red
clover were measured in vivo with sheep and using the omasal sampling technique with rumen-cannulated
dairy cows. Red clovers’ content of indigestible neutral detergent fibre challenged the traditional rumen
liquor or commercial cellulase-based laboratory methods successfully in estimating the digestibility of red
clover silage. Contrary to pure grass silage, delayed harvest of pure red clover silage did not decrease the
supply of nutrients to dairy cows. The main reason was the decreased intake of early-cut red clover silage.
An Internet service which presents red clover and grass digestibility (using separate equations for each
species) based on cumulative temperature and geographical location within Finland has been developed to
assist in correct timing of forage harvest. The optimal harvesting time for a mixed ley with 50 % red clover
was approximately one week later than that for a pure grass ley.
Suckler cow production suits organic meat production well and has not reached the demand volume of
consumers in Finland. To improve the narrow profit margin of cattle and sheep enterprises, it is necessary to
develop methods to increase the efficiency of forage use. In the project, feeding experiments with suckler
cows and bulls were carried out to evaluate different feeding strategies and the effect of forage digestibility
on meat production. The results suggest that suckler cows can be fed every third day without harmful effects
on the performance, thus reducing the labour requirement and improving better profitability. The
performance of growing bulls was greatly affected by the digestibility of the grass silage offered, while the
protein content of the concentrate had no effect. An increase in fodder digestibility of 5 % points increased
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the meat production of beef bulls by about 190 g day-1. Mixed grazing of suckler cows and sheep proved to
be a promising way to intensify pasture utilization. Calves of suckler cows grew 10-15 kg per animal more if
there were no sheep with them on pasture. The sheep produced 19 kg of meat each when they were on the
same pasture with suckler cows and their calves. This can be considered as extra production from the
pasture. Also, white clover grew better and weeds like Rumex were controlled better if sheep were together
with suckler cows.
It has been suggested that due to different husbandry practices in organic and conventional farming,
differences may exist between them in microbiological food safety. As food safety starts on the farm, a
simple but comprehensive method for evaluation of farm level hygiene is needed. An ideal method would be
objective, feasible and applicable to different production types and farm sizes, and should help to identify
dubious husbandry practices on individual farms. The method being developed is based on an enquiry about
hygienic practices at the farm level. The method of assessing farm hygiene proficiency will be connected to
the detected prevalences of pathogens (Yersinia enterocolitica, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Listeria
monocytogenes). Cattle are now widely accepted as a major reservoir of E. coli O157:H7 (EHEC). The
prevalence of EHEC is not well known in Finland and the effects of different farming systems on the
prevalence are not known. In the project, the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 on conventional and organic
cattle farms was investigated with test samples from farms. Faecal samples and barn surface samples were
collected from 126 cattle farms, of which 54 were organic. E. coli O157 was found on seven farms, of which
two were organic. See more: Nykänen et al. 2005b.
Economics, food and markets
Under themes, there are five projects: ‘Local food system: impacts and learning challenges’, ‘Consumers,
decision makers and local or organic food. Possibilities of SMEs’, ‘Interaction between actors of organic
demand-supply chain’, ‘Specialisation of organic farms through co-operation’, ‘Frontiers of organic and
conventional farming technologies – environmental efficiency, productivity and learning’ and ‘Quality beef
with efficient suckler cow production’.
Concurrent with globalisation is a growing interest in local food; this is also the case in Finland. It is
assumed that increasing use of local food, either conventional or organic, has impacts on the environment,
landscape and economics. This is studied by using and developing agri-environmental and regional
economic models. For the investigation of learning challenges, selected food chains and their networks are
qualitatively analyzed by interviews and an actor meeting. All data are centred around a rural municipality
case and its region. The environmental impact of various dietary options relying on local food is assessed in
terms of nutrient balance, greenhouse gas emissions and the landscape. In the area studied there is enough
agricultural land to supply all the food needed for local consumption even if the food is produced
organically. Preliminary results suggest that the socio-economic changes as well as the environmental and
landscape impacts of increasing local food are rather small. On the national level, greenhouse gas emissions
could be markedly reduced if, e.g., imported vegetables were replaced by domestic produce.
The attitudes of consumers and local decision makers to local and organic food are of interest and important
when markets for organic food and the functioning of demand supply chain are developed. Local and
organic food offers alternatives and opportunities for consumers, actors of food systems and local SMEs.
The attitudes and views on local and organic food as well as the demand-supply chain of the organic food
system were studied using qualitative and quantitative methods. Different types of interviews,
questionnaires and focus group discussions with consumers, decision makers and actors at different levels of
the food chain were applied. According to the preliminary results, both consumers and decision makers have
a better understanding of organic food than of local food. Organic food production is defined by legislation.
In general, attitudes are quite positive to both local and organic food. Organic food was associated with
cleanness or purity, referring to the method of production, not so much to the product itself. Surveys of
consumers and supply chain actors indicate that the changes in the conventional food system have had an
impact on the organic chain too. Other obstacles to the optimisation of the organic food chain are the
unbalanced power structures between actors of the chain who have divergent objectives, and poor
communication between the end consumers and the actors of the chain.
In organic production, specialisation has been feasible only up to a certain point. Co-operation can bring
even larger benefits in organic production than in conventional production. On animal and cereal farms it
would allow farmers to specialise in their respective lines while safeguarding a sufficient nutrient rotation.
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This would be highly sensible also in terms of environmental impact. The first stage of the study has studied
existing co-operation models in five co-operating rings of farms and the second stage will create cooperation
models between different lines of production. The models aim at optimising production
environmentally, economically and functionally compared to farms operating alone. The benefits of the cooperation
were experienced as lower production costs, specialisation of professional skills, more free time,
better or wider crop rotation, more efficient use of green manure as fodder and better use of manure as
fertilizer and better profitability.
The environmental efficiency of farms is one way to measure the environmental impact of agricultural
production. The trade-offs between conventional production (in)efficiency and environmental (in)efficiency
are identified to recognize potentially contradictory targets implemented in agricultural-environmental
policy. Another way to asses the environmental impact of agricultural production is determination of
shadow prices for environmentally detrimental outputs. The shadow values derived reflect the costs of the
negative environmental effects of agriculture. The results of environmental efficiency show that public
goods produced by organic farming have to be added to the efficiency of input-output calculations. The
theoretical model also shows that if the payment of organic subsidy is to be explained by the public goods
produced by organic farming, the subsidy must be based on the value of the public goods, not the market
share of organic products. When comparing how efficiently livestock farms use their resources, our
preliminary results indicate that the representative organic farm is found to be technically more efficient
relative to its own technological frontier than is the representative conventional farm.
Suckler cow production is a branch of livestock farming which may increase strongly in Finland, because
the Finnish EU quota for suckler cows is not fully utilised. This could especially increase organic beef
production. The low interest in suckler cow production is mainly due to the low profitability of this line of
production. The economic return on suckler cow production is studied with model calculations and on the
basis of data from actual suckler cow farms. The profitability of investments is calculated using the real
option method. There are opportunities to improve the economic performance of Finnish suckler cow farms
by increasing the unit size, utilizing effectively the low-price fodder from pasture and decreasing the labour
input with rational feeding and handling systems, for example. Besides, low capital costs can help to achieve
an economic return that is competitive with other lines of production. See more: Nykänen et al. 2005c.
References
Nykänen, A., Hakala, K., Halinen, A., Hannukkala, A., Keskitalo, M., Kirkkari, A-M., Palojärvi, A.,
Tolonen, K & Tontti, T. 2005a. Plant Production and Soil Science Research under Research Program
for Organic Food and Farming in Finland. www.orgprints.org .
Nykänen, A., London, L., Maijala, R., Manninen, M., Myllys, V., Rinne, M., Siekkinen, K-M., Sormunen-
Cristian, R. & Vanhatalo, A. 2005b. Animal Husbandry and Food Safety Research under Research
Program for Organic Food and Farming in Finland. www.orgprints.org .
Nykänen, A., Heikkilä, A-M., Huhtala, A., Kottila, M-R., Lätti, M., Mäkelä, J., Seppänen, L. 2005c.
Economics, Food and Markets Research under Research Program for Organic Food and Farming in
Finland. www.orgprints.org .