News Cattle feed
'Finnish animal feed must be soy-free by 2025'
Finland's Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Jari Leppä, wants the country to stop importing soy for animal feed within 5 years. According to the agriculture minister, the import of soy can be completely replaced by expanding the own production of broad beans.
When we expand the production of broad beans in Finland from 22.000 hectares to 80.000 hectares, it will no longer be necessary to import soybean meal. Agriculture Minister Jari Leppä wrote this on his website last week. “In total, only 7% of the land in Finland is currently used for the agricultural sector. The expansion of the broad bean sector would take up 4% of that,” he writes.
Environmental requirements
The agriculture minister notes in his article that imports of soybean for Finnish animal feed have increased significantly over the past 10 years. Most of the product is imported from Brazil. However, Leppä claims that Brazilian soybeans do not meet Finland's target of being carbon neutral by 2035. That is why he wants to stop importing soy from this country before 2025. Also the recent forest fires in the Amazon strengthen his opinion.
Leppä writes that he realizes that soy is an important source of protein for animal feed, but that Finnish producers are well on the way to replacing the product (including oats, peas and rapeseed). "Milk and beef production in Finland is therefore almost soy-free," the minister claims. In pork production, soy accounts for approximately 6% of the feed. In addition, about 15% of the feed for broilers still consists of soy.
Kimberly Baker
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