Number of farms on the wane

There were approximately 46,700 agricultural and horticultural enterprises in Finland in 2019, posting a decrease of 900 farms from the corresponding figure in the year before, according to the provisional data recorded at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) on the structure of agricultural and horticultural enterprises.

In 2019, slightly less than two per cent of farms went out of operations. The number of farms of more than 100 hectares increased, while the number of farms of less than 100 hectares either decreased or remained unchanged in the category of all sizes, said Luke in a press release.

The average total field area of farms has been growing by about one hectare per year for several years. In 2019, farms had an average of 49 hectares of arable land. The farms with the largest field areas were in Southwest Finland, where the average farm size was almost 60 hectares. The smallest farms were in southern Savonia, where the average total field area was 32 hectares.

The average age of farmers was 53 in 2019. On limited liability farms, the average age of farmers was the lowest, i.e., 48. Farmers in charge of farms owned by heirs were the oldest, of an average age of 60. On family-run farms, the average age of farmers was 53.

“The number of farmers over 70 continued to increase. Last year, 30 per cent of the farmers were over 60, and only 16 per cent of them were less than 40. The number of farmers over 70 has increased considerably during the year, totalling approximately 2,800 in 2019,” said Luke Statistician Jaana Kyyrä.