In Finland average milk yield on organic farms is more than 8000 kg /cow/yr (year 2014), best farms even 10,000 kg /cow/yr. Feeding is based on good quality grass-clover silage, cereals, oilseed rape cake, field peas and faba beans. Typical protein mixture is 50 % rape/ 25 % pea/ 25 % bean. By mixing different protein sources we can balance the diet according to the quality of silage. Normally we take two cuts of silage. First cut is low in crude protein, high in digestibility and the second cut is the opposite. Because of our climate oilseed rape and faba bean can’t be grown everywhere in Finland. Dairy farmers grow their own, buy or make contracts with arable farmers to grow or they buy oilseed rape cakes from the factories pressing rapeoil for consumers. Why not soya ? We can’t grow it here. Oilseed rape has shown to be more suitable with our silage. We don’t need soya to get high milk yields. A higher degree of self sufficiency helps financially.
