Lessons from organic farming for a more sustainable food system
The Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) studies the environmental impacts and methods of organic production and produces information on them to support decision-making by farmers, businesses and society. Luke also supports the organic sector by developing organic statistics and monitoring developments in the sector.
Researched information on organic production and its sustainability impacts is needed to achieve the ambitious growth targets set for organic production and consumption in Finland. Organic production methods also benefit conventional agriculture by helping to reduce dependence on external inputs, thereby improving the sustainability and profitability of production.
Our understanding of the biodiversity and hydrological impacts of Finnish organic production has increased
Luke has recently produced a wealth of new research data on the effects of crop rotations and tillage practices on soil condition, soil biodiversity and water loads from fields.
Studies have shown that organic farming contributes to soil biodiversity, improves soil condition and reduces nutrient pollution of water bodies, especially in cereal production. Nitrogen loads to water bodies were 20% lower in organic fields than in conventional and mono-crop fields.
"More information is still needed on the environmental impact of organic production, especially in Finland and other northern production regions. The synthesis report (urn.fi) on the biodiversity impacts of organic production published in 2023 increased our understanding of the information needs," says Sari Iivonen, Director of the Organic Research Institute at Luke.
Studies have shown that organic production promotes soil biodiversity, improves soil condition and reduces nutrient pollution of water bodies, especially in cereal production.
The research will help to make organic production more environmentally sustainable and provide the information consumers need on the added value of organic farming. Information on the environmental impact of organic farming has been produced for professional kitchens, among others, to help them communicate to their customers the reasons for preferring organic products.
The Natural Resources Institute Finland will continue to develop methods for calculating the life-cycle environmental impacts of organic products and produce product-level information on the environmental impacts of Finnish organic food products.
Aiming to increase organic yields and improve yield stability
Mixed cropping is seen as one way of increasing organic yields. Preliminary results from mixed cropping trials show that mixed cropping of pulses, oilseeds and cereals are ways to increase yields and yield stability in organic farming. In addition, it is important to control perennial weeds that compete with crops in organic fields. Recent practical information cards on mechanical control of couch grass, perennial sow-thistle and creeping thistle will support the development of knowledge on organic methods.
Luke has developed a method for calculating organic yield potential and has added information on the yield potential of different crop species to the annual organic yield statistics. The development of these statistics provides organic farmers with important comparative information on the yields achieved by the best organic farms in different provinces. The development of organic statistics is also very important for monitoring the development of the sector.
Organic research also provides tools for the development of conventional agriculture
Research into organic farming offers ways to increase the environmental sustainability and self-sufficiency of our entire agricultural production. Organic research brings to conventional farming knowledge about regenerative and ecological methods of farming that can improve the sustainability and profitability of food production and reduce the use of external inputs.
Regenerative farming is largely based on methods used by organic farms in soil management, crop rotation, recycling of organic nutrients and exploiting the nitrogen-fixing capacity of leguminous crops.
"I am pleased that the knowledge generated by organic research is increasingly being used to improve the sustainability of our agricultural production. This is also important from the point of view of increasing self-sufficiency and security of supply," says Iivonen.
The use of plant protection methods developed for organic production to control pests and weeds reduces our dependence on chemical plant protection products, thus increasing the self-sufficiency and profitability of production and reducing the chemical load on the environment.
