Grain from Finland is considered to be heavy, for example in the case of wheat, it can be 1-2 kg heavier than the wheat harvest of other countries. This advantage is partly due to natural conditions, but also to practices, such as drying at farms and careful pre-treatment, covering almost 100% of the grain threshed in Finland.
Grain quality comparison in the EU
The EU Commission collects grain quality data from Member States, but the provision of data is voluntary. Data were gathered in years 2015 and 2017. The quality of grain harvested in Central Europe in 2017 was fairly good, the best falling numbers are found in Austria, Croatia and Slovakia. The heaviness of Finnish grain is reflected in the comparative figures for both wheat and barley, with the exception of weight by hectolitre of barley for 2017.
Quality characteristics of wheat in certain EU Member States in 2015 and 2017
| 2015 | 2017 | |||||||
|
Protein content (%) |
Falling number |
Moisture percentage (%) |
Hectolitre weight (kg/hl) |
Protein content (%) |
Falling number |
Moisture percentage (%) |
Hectolitre weight (kg/hl) |
|
| Austria | 13.8 | 356 | .. | 82.9 | 14.5 | 371 | .. | .. |
| Czech Republic | 12.5 | 350 | 12.8 | 82.2 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Finland | 11.5 | 256 | 12.6 | 81.5 | 12.5 | 183 | 12.7 | 80 |
| Croatia | 10.13 | 320 | 11.61 | 81.15 | 11.8 | 356 | 12.2 | 80.4 |
| Slovakia | 12.3 | 333 | 12.2 | 81 | 13.3 | 362 | 12.4 | 77.7 |
| Italy | 12.5 | .. | 12.17 | 80.12 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Germany | 12.6 | 350 | 13.1 | 79.7 | 13.2 | 285 | 13.7 | 74.9 |
| France | 11 | 311 | 12.8 | 79.6 | 12.3 | 272 | 11.4 | 73.8 |
| Bulgaria | 11.4 | 299.7 | 11.6 | 79.6 | 12.1 | 345.2 | 11.5 | 76.6 |
| Poland | 11.08 | 279 | 13.5 | 78.96 | 11-14 | 140-290 | 14.5-17.5 | 69-78 |
| UK | 11.95 | 293 | 14.55 | 78.81 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Spain | 11.8 | 383 | 9.5 | 76.7 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Belgium | 10.5-11 | .. | 14.5 | 76 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Ireland | 9.5 | 285 | 19.5 | 74.1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| The Netherlands | 10.5-11 | .. | 14 | 74 | 12.2 | 305 | 15.2 | 78.5 |
| Lithuania | 12.3 | 292.9 | 13.8 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Source: Unpublished material collected by the EU Commission
The moisture percentage is usually a cost factor because, if it is high, it must be lowered for the purposes of storage and sales by drying. In Finland, the need for drying is much greater than in other European countries, but the actual need varies greatly on an annual basis. The Finnish averages in the above European comparison are determined from dried grain. They do not therefore indicate actual moisture when threshed, or reveal regional differences. The moisture percentage and, accordingly, the need for drying increases considerably from the south to the north and in grain harvested late.
Quality characteristics of barley in certain EU Member States in 2015 and 2017
| 2015 | 2017 | |||
| Moisture percentage (%) | Hectolitre weight (kg/hl) | Moisture percentage (%) | Hectolitre weight (kg/hl) | |
| France | 12.1 | 69.3 | 12.6 | 67.3 |
| Slovakia | 13.6 | 68.3 | 12.6 | 68.5 |
| Finland | 13.4 | 67.2 | 13.5 | 65.8 |
| Croatia | 13.4 | 66.89 | 12.6 | 67.8 |
| UK | 15.39 | 66.5 | .. | .. |
| Belgium | 14 | 65 | .. | .. |
| Ireland | 18.3 | 65 | .. | .. |
| Bulgaria | 12.6 | 64.5 | 11.6 | 72.5 |
| Poland | 13.21 | 64.36 | 13.5-16 | 60-67 |
| Spain | 9.7 | 63.9 | .. | .. |
| The Czech Republic | 11.8 | .. | .. | .. |
| Lithuania | 13.8 | .. | .. | .. |
| The Netherlands | .. | .. | 14.6 | 63.5 |
Source: Unpublished material collected by the EU Commission
Grain quality in Finland
Weather is one of the most important risk factors affecting grain quality in Finland. The variation in quality characteristics between the best and worst years can be considerably higher than in Central Europe.
In 2018, the average protein content in spring wheat was as high as 15.6%. It was 1992 when the protein content in spring wheat exceeded 15% last time. This year 97% of the investigated samples met a minimum limit of 12,5% protein content as opposed to 50% of the samples last year. Out of this year’s 471 thousand tons of spring wheat yield 84% met the set of quality requirements including 78 kg of hectolitre weight, 180 of falling number and 12,5% of protein content.[1]
The most important technical quality factor of Finland’s most important export grain, oats, is the hectolitre weight (kg/hl) and the grain size, i.e. the number of shrivelled grains. For oats hectolitre weight, the limit values are 54-58kg/100l. The hectolitre weight of good quality oats for export is 56 or 58kg. However, a hectolitre weight of 54kg/hl may be acceptable for oat groats in Europe, but in Finland that is the limit for feed oats. Unfortunately, no international comparative statistics are available on the quality of oats.
The dry growth season in 2018 weakened particularly the quality of oats, since the average hectolitre weight of oats at 52,5 kg is about 4 kg less than the average last year. The proportion of small kernels is higher than last year. Only 536 million kg or 65 % of the oats yield has met the limit of 52 kg set by the quality monitoring system, which is the smallest figure in fourteen years.[1]
DON- concentration figures are clearly less than in the previous two years. Two percent of the investigated samples exceed the DON threshold of 1750 μg/kg measured by the instant method, which is the limit set by EU legislation for food oats. The average protein content of oats is 13.9% which is over two per cent higher than last year.[1]
Oat harvest in Finland meeting quality requirements and the share of total oat production
| Total yield |
Hectolitre weight over 52kg | Hectolitre weight over 58kg | |||
| (million kg) |
Harvest (million kg) | Quality % | Harvest (million kg) | Quality % | |
| 2005 | 1073,3 | 969,6 | 90 | 159,1 | 15 |
| 2006 | 1028,8 | 955,6 | 93 | 329,4 | 32 |
| 2007 | 1222,0 | 1136,5 | 93 | 378,8 | 31 |
| 2008 | 1213,4 | 1130,9 | 93 | 481,7 | 40 |
| 2009 | 1114,7 | 996,5 | 89 | 303,2 | 27 |
| 2010 | 809,7 | 576,5 | 71 | 25,1 | 3 |
| 2011 | 1043,1 | 943 | 90 | 233,7 | 22 |
| 2012 | 1073,1 | 1057 | 99 | 679,3 | 63 |
| 2013 | 1196,8 | 1103,5 | 92 | 381,8 | 32 |
| 2014 | 1039,0 | 904,6 | 87 | 175,4 | 17 |
| 2015 | 979,6 | 962,1 | 98 | 433,5 | 44 |
| 2016 | 1035,1 | 953,7 | 92 | 400,3 | 39 |
| 2017 | 1013,9 | 981,8 | 97 | 473,0 | 47 |
| 2018e | 818,8 | 536,0 | 65 | 14,5 | 2 |
Source: Natural Resources Institute Finland
Based on the results of 2000-2017 safety monitoring by the Finnish Cereals Committee (VYR), spring grains are more susceptible to a Fusarium fungal infection and formation of toxins than other grains. The mycotoxin concentrations of autumn grains have been very low throughout the aforementioned monitoring period, mainly below the limits of determination. Of grains grown in Finland, oats are clearly most susceptible to Fusarium infections and the formation of toxins. In addition, spring wheat and feed barley have been found to exceed the limit values. DON concentrations of malted barley have been low, but weak signals have been observed of the increase in T-2 + HT-2 toxins.
The use and productisation of food oats has increased significantly in Finland. In 2016, food use increased from the previous year’s 84 million kilogrammes to 90 million. Another positive trend, spotted in a survey conducted by the Finnish Oats Association in 2016, is that up to 21 percent of young people aged 13-16 consumed more oats and berries in their snacks than in the previous year. In 2016, more than six kilogrammes of oats per capita was consumed in Finland. Oats seem to be growing more popular year on year.
Database tables
The quality of grain yields in Finland, 2005-2018
References
[1] Quality of grain yield in 2018, Finnish Food Safety Authority (link, in Finnish)
Photo in upper edge: Csaba Jansik