Agroecology, investment, and blogging: Agricultural innovation is diverse. Next, the AgriSpin partners take a look at Finnish agricultural innovation. Four cases will be presented during the Finnish Cross Visit which takes place from June 13 through June 17.
Environmental Technology Development
At Eerola Farm, odor emissions from 1,000 pigs and the logistics of dispersing approximately 2,500 cubic meter slurry annually were a challenge. The project has succeeded in efficiently reducing the odor. Also, the slurry is now spread on the farm’s own fields within a 5 km radius, thus reducing transportation as well.
Feed Wall System Development
Tikka Farm was expanding at a very high speed. Since 1992, the number of cows has grown from a miniscule 12 to an impressive 350 and the acreage from 24 hectares to 850 hectares. This expansion called for the development of a new feed wall system which would accommodate the new needs.
Kirkkokallio Agroecological Concept
Ten companies form an integrated system where water, nutrients and energy circulate and where the companies make use of each other’s side products. Sound like a vision of the future? This is what Kirkkokallio is all about and has been about since it was founded in the 1980s. Today, the revenue of the companies involved amounts to around 100 million Euros and more than 200 people are employed, directly and indirectly.
Investment Support Team and Building Blog
At Keisala Farm, the continuous expansion called for investment support to make sure that the investments were reasonable. The help of the investment support team has resulted in a financially viable barn with good functionality and a fast production start. During the building project, the farmer kept a blog, which sparked a lot of interest, explaining about the ups and downs of the project.
The Finnish team welcomes the AgriSpin colleagues to our Cases! We expect fruitful interaction, and mutual learning on innovations and how to better support them. Hannu