As part of the "Sustainable Silage" project, we participated in an experience exchange trip to Finland

From 5 to 7 August, a meeting of the partners and the steering group of the Interreg Central Baltic Programme project “Sustainable Silage” took place in Finland. During the experience exchange trip, we visited the farm “Vierelä”, where we got to know more about the facts and figures about agriculture and grassland cultivation in Finland. We visited the farm “Manni”, where researchers and experts from the Finnish Natural Resources Institute LUKE talked about the impact of various raw material and additive processing on the quality of silage fermentation, and we also conducted field surveys on the quality of silage.

We then visited the farm “Lähteenmäki”, which grows grass for silage on an area of 180 hectares. The farm has clay soil, so crops with a deep root system are grown so that the grass does not dry out due to drought. The farm provides a demonstration on legumes and the effective use of nutrients in these crops. The farm also grows grass and corn for silage production. This year, the farm is testing 6 new corn varieties. During the visit, we also visited the biogas plant.

At the end of the trip, we visited the farm “Provanin tila”, which is located near the Baltic Sea, keeps 310 dairy cows, and has extensive experience in growing alfalfa. The grass silage is harvested in cooperation with neighboring farms. In the project, the farmers are trying to find out the optimal level of fertilization for alfalfa. At the end, we also conducted field surveys of the farm demonstration to continue the discussion on sustainable silage production.