Viljaseula 2022 collates important information on the quality and safety of the Finnish grain harvest. The information is based on the quality monitoring of the grain harvest carried out by the Plant Analysis laboratory of the Finnish Food Authority.
The Viljaseula 2022 publication contains key data on the quality and safety monitoring of the Finnish cereal harvest carried out by the Plant Analysis laboratory at the Finnish Food Authority. Information on the quality of cereals from the 2022 harvest is shown by region based on the regional division of ELY centres and by grain variety. Regional and varietal information may have been provided where there were enough samples. Quality information has also been provided for organic grain where there were at least 20 samples. The information is provided in the form of brief texts for each grain variety and supplemented with tables, graphs and maps. The publication also has growers’ yield forecasts for all grain varieties.
Quality and safety monitoring of the cereal harvest has been carried out since 1966. Monitoring is sample research. The information is based on farms selected for the samples and so the results represent farms of different sizes, different production trends and production methods – in practice cultivation across the country. The material consists of grain samples sent in by growers, background factors on the samples and the results of the analyses conducted by the Finnish Food Authority. The samples are representative of both the grain sold on the market and grain remaining in the farms. Monitoring provides a reliable picture of the quality of the Finnish cereal harvest. An advantage of long-term monitoring is good comparability from one year to the next.
Domestic grain production is a necessary part of our security of supply. Finland is the world’s northernmost agricultural country, which brings its own climate challenges. No two growing seasons are the same in Finland and the climate is also changing. This makes it important to provide reliable and up-to-date information for the whole food chain on the quality, quantity and safety of the cereal harvest. To support an increase in the use and cultivation of oilseed and protein crops, information is needed on the harvest of broad beans (Vicia faba) and oleaginous plants. Since 2018, samples of broad beans, rape and turnip rape, and since 2022 field pea have also been included in quality monitoring.
Viljaseula 2022 (PDF) 15.3.2023
The Finnish Food Authority’s analytics portal contains open research data on the quality of grain.
The analytics portal contains data on the quality and yield estimates for different varieties of grain. You can view the results for individual years or see the averages for several years. Diagrams are available to illustrate the variation from year to year.
You can view data by means of maps: at a glance, you can see the grain quality data for the entire area of Finland. You can personally choose the year, grain type and variety whose results you want to examine.
To the analytics portal (in Finnish)
Background of the study
How did the quality of grain change as a consequence of the hot, dry summer? How about wet, cold summers? And where in Finland was the impact greatest? The Finnish Food Authority publishes study data produced by its laboratory on the analytics portal, and the data is open to everybody.
The quality of grain is of particular interest to farmers and companies that use grain, along with the food and animal feed industry. The quality of the harvest has a major impact on farmers’ finances and whether the grain can be used for animal feed or for human consumption. The material is utilised to monitor the quality and safety of grain, as well as for data searches, EU reporting and other studies.
The grain quality results are based on the Finnish Food Authority’s grain harvest quality and safety monitoring, which has taken place since 1966. The material consists of samples sent by farms, background information on the samples and the Finnish Food Authority’s analysis results. The results represent farm-level data on practical cultivated land.
The grain samples represent the grain sold on grain markets to the food and animal feed industries, as well as grain sold in transactions between farms or grain retained by farms for their own use.
The farms included in the monitoring were selected using a sampling method from the Natural Resources Institute Finland’s register of agricultural and horticultural enterprises (approximately 50,000 farms). In 2022, approximately 1,500 farms were subject to quality monitoring in relation to the grain harvest. Samples were received up until the end of October.
No results will be visible for individual farmers, as the published data consists of mean and median averages.