Pirkola's farm in Finland
'We are anticipating a bright future for our cultivation business' Keijo (58) and Konsta (23) Pirkola run an arable farm in Tyrnävä, Finland. Founded in 1850, this family business is located in the North Ostrobothnia region, situated between Lapland and the southern part of Finland. Keijo and his son are inspired, hard-working growers. Apart from being eager to invest in their farm, they are also passionate about investing in another shared interest: building and repairing old cars and motorcycles.
Initially, it was Keijo’s father who started growing seed potatoes in the 1980s. The family business had been around for more than 100 years now, but initially focused on raising cattle. ‘In the early 1980s, my father recognised the potential of growing seed potatoes, given the suitability of our sandy soils for this purpose,’ says Keijo, who started helping out on the farm whenever he could at the age of seven. ‘This is a High Grade Area (see box, ed.), which means that we supply high-quality seed potatoes. Once this was seabed. Now there are flat, fertile fields with hardly any stones in the ground.’
Shared ambition
In 1997, Keijo took over the farm completely from his father. Despite being retired, he still worked alongside his son until the age of eighty-five. ‘We never had any big differences in terms of our approach,’ says Keijo, looking back on those days. ‘We both attached great importance to the farm’s growth and modernisation and were always keen to stay up to date with new developments.’ He now shares that same ambition with his own son Konsta, who has been taking an increasingly active role in the business ever since the age of fifteen. ‘As a boy, I preferred playing ice hockey,’ Konsta says, with a big smile. ‘I am currently studying agrology at the Oulu University of Applied Sciences and am gradually taking on more responsibilities at our farm, especially during the peak season.’
They make a great team, and there is always plenty to do since the farm spans more than 100 hectares. In addition to the 25 hectares of seed potatoes the Pirkolas grow for HZPC, they also grow barley, oats, feed peas, fibre hemp and oil radish. ‘We used to grow seed potatoes for the Finnish trading house Kantaperuna, which was acquired by HZPC in 2012,’ explain father and son simultaneously. ‘Our collaboration has also been smooth since the takeover. We grow five varieties for HZPC: Annabelle, Asterix, Colomba, Sunita and Timo. Most lots are sold to various sectors here in Finland, although part of our crop is also exported to Germany and Sweden.’
Conditions for seed potato cultivation are fairly ideal in the northern region of Finland.
Confidence in the future
Conditions for seed potato cultivation are fairly ideal in the northern region of Finland, although climate change is also presenting new challenges for the Pirkolas. One of these challenges, according to Keijo, are the dry summers followed by very rainy autumns. Apart from the more extreme weather conditions, there is another challenge facing seed potato growers in Finland: ‘The prices we get for our crops are shockingly low if you compare them with the cost of production. We hope that the remuneration for quality seed potatoes will rise in line with the costs. So, considering the increasing demand, we see a promising future for our cultivation business – especially if our region remains a High Grade Area.’
A talent for technology
Meanwhile, father and son regularly bounce ideas off each other about improving their business. ‘Just like my father and grandfather, I would like to keep modernising the farm,’ says Konsta. ‘Although my father takes on most of the work as long as I am still studying and is ultimately responsible.’ The Pirkolas’ biggest investments to accommodate the cultivation of seed potatoes were building and later expanding a storage shed of their own. On top of that, they are steadily expanding and improving their machinery. This is where Keijo’s talent for building and repairing machines himself comes in handy. ‘I personally built almost all the grading and sorting equipment we use in our seed potato storage facility,’ says the techsavvy grower.
Konsta inherited both his cultivation skills and passion for technology from his father. ‘We both enjoy repairing old cars and motorcycles or building our own in our leisure time. We get a lot of energy out of this hobby, even though it’s an expensive one. That gives us even more motivation to work harder on the farm,’ says Kosta, a wide grin spreading across both his and his father’s faces. Their passion for technology is also a huge asset for improving their farm. ‘We hope that focusing more on automation and precision farming will help us achieve even better results with less effort and lower costs.’
QUALITY FINNISH SEED POTATO PRODUCTION STRENGTHENS EUROPEAN CULTIVATION
HZPC has had access to high-quality seed potato production facilities in Finland thanks to its cooperation with and subsequent acquisition (in 2012) of the Finnish seed potato company Kantaperuna, which was established in 1987. Although this was initially set up for local supply, export to other European countries has been increasing in recent years. This is a logical development, as the Finnish region of Tyrnävä-Liminka is one of the few European areas accorded High Grade Area* status (alongside the Portuguese Azores, Ireland, and the German federal state of Mecklenburg Vorpommern), and because climate change is driving the need for risk diversification to meet the rising demand. The logistics processes are already well established to handle this.
A short and vigorous season
There is also a notable potential for growth in Finland. The total surface area allocated to seed potato production comprises over 1,000 hectares, of which 350 hectares are currently in use by the thirteen growers affiliated to HZPC Finland. They grow a diversity of varieties, of which the Annabelle, Colomba and Innovator are the most popular. Eighty per cent of these tubers are grown in the High Grade Area. The sandy soil outside this area is also ideal for the production of high-quality seed potatoes. Conditions in the far north are challenging, but also offer plenty of advantages. The cold winters and firm ground frosts reduce pathogen pressure, for example, which subsequently results in a reduction in the use of chemical pesticides. The Finnish growing season is short but vigorous due to its summers, which boast 24 hours of daylight. On average, seed potatoes are planted here in mid-May and harvested in August and September.
* A High Grade Area is free from quarantine diseases, such as brown rot, ring rot, potato wart disease, and certain quarantine organisms (root knot nematodes, potato cyst nematodes, and the Colorado potato beetle). To keep these areas free from pathogens, the status is paired with stringent legislation, enforced in Finland by the Finnish Food Authority.
