Tool for Monitoring and Evaluating the On-farm Environment Management and Nutrient Use on Finnish Cattle Farms - Water and Agriculture: Sustainability, Markets and Policies - page 287

The review of the production processes together with an expert helped to find the
development targets, unnecessary work and purchased inputs, and time thieves. Farmers
have been highly satisfied with the assessment, because it has also identified the extra
cost items due to the current level of activities, for example, in fertiliser purchases. When
fertilisers and their use are raised as a development target, farmers have observed that
cost savings have been achieved in the follow-up assessment. Even if CFEAT requires
some concentration and paperwork from farmers, it has proven a functioning tool which
gives a farmer a comprehensive view of the environmental impacts of farming activities.
The development of the practices has also produced clear economic benefits.
Farmers who are interested in using CFEAT are those who have a strong business
attitude to farming and who aim to continuously develop their professional skills. They
are able and willing to take advantage of the available training and advisory services in
their work, and are active in searching for further information on the use of the best and
most cost-efficient practices.
One major challenge for advisory services and administration is how to encourage the
farmers with more “traditional” attitudes and working methods to also improve their
practices, especially those relating to the control of nutrient emissions. Incorporating the
calculation of nutrient balances as one condition into the agri-environmental support
scheme could be one way of achieving this, besides increasing the training and advice.
The planning of the next programming period is now under way in Finland, and the
calculation of nutrient balances has been raised strongly as one additional measure. The
calculation of nutrient balances and review of the farming practices, together with an
outside expert, help farmers to develop their practices further in an ecologically and
economically sustainable direction.
Bibliography
Ministry of the Environment (MoE 1998). Vesiensuojelun tavoitteet vuoteen 2005 /
Water Protection Targets until 2005. Suomen ympäristö 226 (in Finnish).
Vuorenmaa, J., Rekolainen, S., Lepistö, A., Kenttämies, K. and Kauppila, P. (2002),
“Losses of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural and forest areas in Finland
during the 1980s and 1990s”, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 76:213-248.
EU (1991). Nitrates Directive 91/676/EEC.
Marttila, J., Vahtera, H., Granlund, K. & Lahti, K. (2005). Ravinnetase vesiensuojelun
apuvälineenä. / Nutrient Balance as a Tool in Water Protection. Uudenmaan
ympäristökeskus - monisteita (in Finnish).
Pyykkönen, S., Grönroos, J., Rankinen K., Laitinen P., Karhu, E. & Granlund, K (2004).
Ympäristötuen mukaiset viljelytoimenpiteet ja niiden vaikutukset
vesistökuormitukseen vuosina 2000-2002. / Cultivation Measures under the Agri-
Environmental Scheme and Their Impacts on the Loading of Waters in 2000-2002.
Suomen ympäristö 711 (in Finnish).