Country Pasture/Forage Resource Profiles

Estonia

by

Are Selge

1. Introduction
2. Soils and Topography
3. Climate and Agro-ecological Zones
4. Ruminant Livestock Production Systems
5. The Pasture Resource
6. Opportunities for Improvement of Fodder Resources
7. Research and Development Organizations and Personnel
8. References
9. Contacts

The Republic of Estonia (Eesti Vabariik) is a Parliamentary republic where the President is elected for a period of 5 years. The State's governing body is a Parliament with 101 members, elected for a term of 4 years. The capital city is Tallinn (on 1 January 2000, it had 408 000 inhabitants or 28 percent of the total population) and Estonia is divided into 15 counties, 42 towns and 205 municipalities. The population was 1 439 197 (on 1 January 2000) with a density of 32 inhabitants per km². According to the World Factbook it was 1,324,333 in July 2006 with a growth rate of -0.64%. The population is mainly Estonian with a considerable Russian minority: Estonians 65 percent, Russians 28 percent, Ukrainians 3 percent, Belorussians 1 percent, Finns 1 percent, other 2 percent (on 1 January 2000). The official language is Estonian (belonging to the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic language) and the national currency is the Estonian kroon (1 kroon = 100 sents) which was introduced on 20 June 1992 at a rate of 1 EUR = 15.65 EEK.

The land area is 45 227 km²; Estonia consists of a mainland and some 1,500 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea. It is bounded on the north by the Gulf of Finland (an inlet of the Baltic Sea), on the east by Russia, on the south by Latvia, and on the west by the Baltic Sea.

There are many lakes: Peipsi - total area 3 555 km² (area in Estonia 1 529 km² ), Võrtsjärv, 271 km² , Narva artificial lake - total area 191 km² (area in Estonia 38 km²). The "highest" point is Suur Munamägi at 318 m.

Estonia has been dominated by foreign powers through much of its history. In 1940 it was incorporated into the U.S.S.R. as a constituent republic. Estonia remained a Soviet republic until 1991 when it declared its independence. The U.S.S.R. agreed to independence for Estonia and the other Baltic states on Sept. 6, 1991; United Nations membership followed shortly thereafter.

Figure 1. Map of Estonia

Location, natural conditions and land

Estonia is in the northern part of the temperate zone in a transition between maritime and continental climates. Thanks to the warm North Atlantic Stream, all Northern Europe (including Estonia) has a considerably milder climate than, for instance, similar latitudes in North America. The Baltic Sea causes significant differences between the climate of coastal and inland areas.

Estonia, a tiny country, is the most northerly and the smallest of the Baltic states. Its area (45 227 sq. km) is similar to that of The Netherlands, but the population is ten times smaller. Over 1,500 offshore islands make up 9.2 percent of Estonia's territory.

From the aspect of economic geography, Estonia's location on the Baltic provides a sea connection with many countries, in particular the Baltic countries. Also, Estonia constitutes a part of the North Eastern coast of Europe, through which Northern Russia communicates with the rest of the world. The economic-geographic position of Estonia has changed with the times. Estonia is now striving for membership of the European Union and its main economic partners are the member states of the Union http://www.estonica.org/ )

Structure of agriculture and its role in national economy (from Agriculture and Rural Development. Overview 2000/2001). Agriculture has traditionally been an important area of activity and a source of income for Estonia. Transition to a market economy, privatisation and restitution of the assets of former collective farms to their lawful owners, as well as the collapse of East European markets have altered the share of agriculture in rural and national development.

The percentage of rural population has increased since 1992 (28.9 percent in 1992, 30.9 percent in 2000), but the relative share of agriculture in the employment of rural population has decreased. In 1992, 51 percent of rural working-age population was in agriculture, but in 2000 only 18 percent.

According to the estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture, the gross agricultural product in 2000 amounted to EEK 6.38 billion (see Table 2). Gross output increased by 24 percent when compared to the previous year, but the 1998 level was only exceeded by 2 percent. The estimated income of people employed in agricultural production was EEK 2.34 billion and increased by nearly one-third when compared to the previous year. Despite the relatively large growth, the level of income was 8 percent lower when compared to 1998.

Table 1. Economic results in agriculture (EEK '000,000)

There were 1,433,100 ha of agricultural land, 2,015,500 ha of land under forest and 283,300 ha of land under water in Estonia in 2000. Of the total agricultural land, arable land constitutes 1 119 780 ha (78 percent) and natural grasslands 298 700 ha (21 percent) (Chart 1).

Cattle numbers and production. The number of animals and the output of livestock products have decreased in 1993-1999. The reasons are the low purchasing prices and the effects of agricultural restructuring. The domestic prices in 1997-1999 were influenced by the sharp decline of world market prices on average by 35 percent below the last 15 years' average. The number of bovines fell by 65 percent in 10 years. The number of sheep has fallen about 78 percent (Table 4).

Dairying is the main source of income of agricultural holdings despite the fact that total milk production has fallen in the last 10 years from 1,200,000 tons in 1990 to 629,600 tons in 2000 (Chart 3) and rising slightly to 651,885 in 2004.

The decrease is due to a reduced number of animals, caused by the sharp decrease in the purchasing power of the Eastern market, the reduction of exports and low producer prices. Because of restructuring of production units, the lower profitability of production and the impairment of feeding conditions, the productivity of cows fell in 1990-1993. The yield per cow began to rise again from 1994. In 2000, the yield per cow was 12 percent higher than in 1990. The production of milk increased in Estonia in the 9 months of 2001, the production of milk increased 9 percent compared with the same period of the previous year.

Producers. The number of livestock producers is the largest (67.9 percent) in the herd size group of up to 10 cows and the smallest (7.7 percent) in the size group of over 100 cows. Nearly 70 percent of all cows is in herds of over 100 animals.

Table 5. The number of cows under performance testing, and the size of herd.

The number of dairy producers has decreased due to the closing of milk collection services and due to termination of production during periods of unfavourable market conditions. As requirements for both purchased milk and milk production become stricter, the number of such producers will further decrease in the near future, because they are unable to keep pace with today's efficient production conditions. The decrease of herds of over 100 animals in recent years is due to the bankruptcy of several large-scale agricultural holdings or the re-orientation of such holdings to other areas of production. The number of herds of 11-50 animals has increased.

Number of cows. In 2000, the number of cows in Estonia decreased by 7,700 animals or 5.6 percent compared to 1999; the number of cows as of 1 January 2001 was 130,700 (Chart 2) falling to 116,800 in 2004. The liquidation of herds caused by the unfavourable market conditions of 1998/1999 has stopped; more powerful and competitive producers continue their activities. No substantial decrease in the number of cows is foreseen in the near future, but rather, a slight rise can be expected.

As to the structure of herds, most cows (71.4 percent) are of the Estonian Holstein breed and their percentage has increased since the year 2000 by 2.6 percent. The increased percentage of Holstein cattle is due to their higher genetic potential when compared to Estonian red cattle and the Estonian cattle breeds. The share of Estonian cattle has increased by 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent thanks to the state support given to them as an endangered breed. The share of Estonian red cattle is 28.1 percent and has decreased by 2.7 percent since the year 2000.

Chart 2. Number of cows as of 31 December 2000

Milk production. According to a preliminary estimation, total milk production in 2000 was 628,663 tons, which is 0.4 percent, i.e. 2,577 tons more than in 1999 (Chart 3). The milk industry was sold 408,677 tons of milk, which is 1.1 percent more than in 1999. The quality of milk improved when compared to the last year. While in 1999, elite or top grade milk accounted for 79.4 percent of all purchased milk, in 2000 its share was 83.3 percent. The relative share of first grade milk decreased from 16.8 percent to 14.2 percent. The fat content of purchased milk was on average 3.9 percent in 2000, which is 0.1 percent higher than in 1999. Milk production in 2004 was 651,885 tons.

Chart 3. Total milk production and average annual yield per cow

Beef production. The number of cattle has gradually fallen in Estonia. As of 2001, the number of cattle was 252,800, which is nearly 10 percent less than the previous year. As the number of dairy cattle decreased and beef production depends on the number of cows, beef production decreased to 15,383 t in 2000 and 15,242 t in 2004. The number of cattle in 2004 was 257,200.

Foot and mouth disease outbreaks and cases of BSE influenced the world beef market in 2000. The effect of BSE on beef production will probably be more apparent in 2001. The current beef prices in the world are relatively high, although prices in the European Union fell at the end of the year due to decreased demand. Because of BSE outbreaks, import of beef from ten European countries to Estonia is restricted and this creates the need to expand local beef production.

Purchase prices for beef have been low in recent years due to little interest of producers in fattening bovines. Most bull calves have therefore been killed at less than one month old. From the second half of 2000, purchase prices increased and the December average was 8.31 EEK/kg. The quantities of beef purchased, however, were lower than earlier and the sales of beef animals to slaughterhouses were modest despite the high price even at the end of the year. It can thus be concluded that the decrease in the number of beef animals has reached the bottom and is expected to slowly increase in future.

The rearing of beef cattle is expanding. The Estonian Beef Cattle Association was founded on July 21, 2000 and beef cattle will be subjected to performance testing from 2001. The animal breeding society "Estonian Red Cattle" is responsible for co-ordinating meat cattle breeding. Beef cattle are reared in 14 counties; more than 50 percent of the herds are concentrated in Hiiu, Saare and Lääne counties. The total number of beef cattle herds is 76. More than a half of beef cattle farmers have relatively small herds (up to 10 animals).

Research carried out by the specialists of Jäneda Training and Advisory Centre in 2000 gave an overview of the situation of beef cattle. Beef cattle presently accounts for only 0.5 percent (1,220) of the total number of bovine animals in Estonia. The majority of beef cattle are Hereford (72 percent), smaller numbers of Aberdeen-Angus, Limousine, Charollais and Scottish Highland animals are also kept. Relatively many hybrids are also reared for meat production. The above cattle breeds are equal for their meat qualities, with the exception of the Scotch breed that yields less meat and is mainly reared in Estonia for its exotic appearance.

Sheep production. The number of sheep in Estonia has started to increase. Compared to 1999 the number of sheep increased by 500, i.e. 2 percent (according to the Statistical Office data). Therefore the number of sheep at the end of 2000 was 29,000 and at the end of 2004 some 30,800 head. Sheep rearing is becoming more common in rural households. The total sheep meat production in the world has also increased during the last years and the demand for both lamb and mutton is presently high, which is why sheep meat prices are also relatively high.

The ewe support introduced in 1999 has influenced Estonian mutton production in the recent years. The marking and registering of sheep has increased, as it is a precondition for receiving ewe support. The recent years' development can be seen in the growing size of sheep herds. Owing to the scarce supply of sheep meat on the market and the relatively favourable prices, producers' interest in sheep rearing is high. Rapid growth is hindered by the fact that demand for purebred sheep exceeds supply. Detection of the Maedi-Visna virus in Estonian sheep also limits the purchasing opportunities. Marketing has been a problem for producers up to now. The Estonian Sheep Breeders Association with the support from co-operative activities has initiated the creation of a marketing group and preparation of a marketing strategy.

Estonian dark-headed and the Estonian white-headed sheep are reared for meat. The dark-headed breed currently prevails while the share of white-headed sheep is increasing. Out of the sheep entered in the farm animal’s register, 69 percent are dark-headed and 31 percent white-headed. Of the ewes recorded by the Estonian Sheep Breeders Society, dark-headed sheep have only a slight majority. Oxford-Down, Texel and Dala sheep have been used to improve breed qualities.

Animal health. Estonia was free from all the extremely dangerous infectious animal diseases (A-list diseases) in 2000. Due to the stable disease-free status, livestock producers did not suffer from any economic loss due to animal diseases, neither was there any restrictions imposed on trade in animals and animal products. Consumers were also protected from any danger of zoonoses. A framework of infectious animal disease control measures was established in 2000 by the Infectious Animal Disease Control Act. The Government of Estonia set up an inter-ministerial committee for bovine spongiform encephalopathy because of the country’s European Union member status and the need to prevent the spread of the disease in Estonia as well as to identify the situation in Estonia.

Several state and international co-operation programmes of different countries (namely Holland, the USA) have played an important part in the development of grasslands. Grassland management has remained a priority within the following projects:

• Project on Dairy Farming Improvement: The project, supported by the Dutch Government, concentrated on pilot farms and advice based mainly on the experiences gained in the Netherlands. A number of farms were selected and advisers were given on the job training on farms. The activities concentrated more on farm trials and grassland management.
• Project ‘Milk’. By applied research, the adjusting of growing technologies of different varieties to managing conditions of the region (the selection of varieties, establishing grasslands and re-establishing, the durability of grass plants; yield and nutritive value) was explained. On cultural pastures the influence of the beginning of spring grazing on the pasture grass mass distribution during the grazing period was studied. The wet and dry silage, made from red clover was used in feeding trials to find out their efficiency in milk production. Silage making technologies for red clover as well as norms for feeding red clover-rich grass silage were worked out. The efficiencies of different silage making technologies (clamp silage, bales of silage, different species composition) were compared on the bases of silage quality, the loss of nutrients and the profitability. Research was continued to find cheaper silage additives for dried feeds, which, due to biological additives, enable the reduction of losses in making silage and improvement of the quality of silage and milk.

• At the present moment the state-ordered projects (by Ministry of Agriculture) have an important role. Through these projects it is possible to study problems which are important to producers as well as to the state. The topics and results of this applied research will be analysed every year.
• Control Centre of Plant Production deals with testing new and foreign seed varieties. Since the year 1997, Estonia has been admitted to the OECD Cereal, Oil and Fibre Plants and Herbage Seed Schemes and is participating as an observer in the Vegetable Seed Scheme. In 2001, it was planned to submit an application for the EU equivalence on seeds and this process is ongoing. Re-accreditation of ISTA seed control laboratory was started in 2000, and completed at the beginning of year 2001.

Extension and advisory services in Estonia have an important role in spreading scientific research results to producers. Several achievements reflect the following strong points and unique features of the advisory system development in Estonia:

• The governmental advisory service programme and public competition of projects for funding has been initiated. The national advisory programme has been financed increasingly from the government budget. The funds provided by the advisory programme are used for project financing on the basis of open competition. The programme is aimed at supporting individual advice as well as group and mass activities. An impressive number of extension materials have been developed, and the materials in general seem to be of practical value to the farmers as reflected by their high sale.
• A system for certification of advisors has been introduced. A registry for advisors has been created and eligibility criteria have been developed.
• The Estonian Association of Rural Consultants and Advisors has been established, which continues to grow. Currently, it enjoys membership of about 100 very dynamic advisors in the country. The association prints a newsletter for advisors and makes use of modern technology.
• The demand for advice, especially that related to milk quality advice, is increasing very rapidly. Dairy farmers become more and more aware of the importance of producing high quality milk as a major factor influencing their income. As for the future, meeting EU standards is vital for producers who want to stay in business.

Aspects needing strengthening

• Co-operation between research and extension is inadequate. Not only are the definition of roles and distribution of tasks among different institutions and organisations belonging to the extension complex vague, but co-operation among these institutions and organisations is also inadequate.
• The relationship between the organisations producing the information (research institutions) and those applying it (advisors) is still weak.