Sometimes a great notion: energy crop is left lying in fields

VAPO is terminating contracts as reed canary grass simply does not sell

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By Matti Huuskonen in Ilomantsi
     
      An elephants' graveyard.
      This blunt expression could describe the Iljansuo bog in Finland’s eastern municipality of Ilomantsi: tall yellow stalks of grass, worksite gravel roads, and huge partly-collapsed stacks of bales.
      The chilly wind is tearing at the ragged protective plastic sheeting.
      The bales of grass consist of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea).
     
The reed canary grass can be turned into energy, for which Agrifood Research Finland (MTT), the state majority-owned energy company VAPO, and many farmers alike all had great expectations only a few short years ago.
      However, these best-laid plans have come to nothing.
      At power plants, reed canary grass causes technical problems, and even at its best, it leads to lots of extra work.
      This is the reason for its poor demand, even though it is cheaper than peat.
     
In 2010, the cultivated area for reed canary grass was less than 17,000 hectares. This is just slightly more than 0.5 per cent of all utilised agricultural land in Finland.
      The proportion of reed canary grass in Finland’s energy production was even lower.
      VAPO is by far the largest cultivator of reed canary grass in Finland. VAPO is cultivating the crop on peat bogs that have been taken out of use.
      For the time being, VAPO also has more than 700 contract cultivators of reed canary grass.
      Until 2008, VAPO kept ramping up the cultivated area for reed canary grass and the number of its contract farmers. Since then, the company has reduced both, with almost equal enthusiasm.
     
Particularly in the course of the current year, the contractors have been given the cold shoulder by VAPO, which still has supply contracts with more than 20 users, albeit that only the energy companies Kuopio Energy and Kainuun Voima are currently taking reed canary grass on a regular basis.
      VAPO has reacted to the loss of its end-users by putting on sale its own reed canary grass fields.
      The company has also terminated - or chosen not to renew - every second cultivation contract.
      On the fields for which the contract has been terminated, cultivation will be permitted to continue until the end of 2013, when the current farm subsidy programme is replaced by a new one.
     
The dismissals have been a bitter pill for many farmers who had counted on the energy crop production.
      What may have irritated and infuriated the farmers even more is the fact that they have been forced to wait for their money for up to two or three years, as VAPO has usually paid them only after it has managed to sell the grass and has picked up the bales from the farmer.
     
The bales at Iljasuo - a reed canary grass crop stretching back three years - are gradually rotting, says liaison officer Merja Koponen from VAPO.
      The worst of them, where mould has got in and destroyed the grass, have had to be dug back into the bog using a tractor and backhoe.
      A special problem faced by Iljansuo is its remote location. The nearest noteworthy user, Fortum’s power plant in Joensuu, is all of 140 kilometres away.
      The distance is far too great, and it is simply not profitable to transport the grass all the way to Joensuu. The grass is light and it takes up a lot of space relative to the energy content that can be derived from it.
      Even though the reed canary grass is not sellable, VAPO will nonetheless have to harvest the crop in order to be entitled to the agricultural subsidies for the production of canary grass.
     
Suo Oy, a subsidiary of VAPO, which is responsible for the cultivation of reed canary grass, has been one of Finland’s largest recipients of agricultural subsidies for many years.
      The trend has been downward, but in the current year, the amount of subsidies will still be approximately EUR 1.0 million.
     
     
BACKGROUND: Ilomantsi is girding itself for a pesticide battle
     
Reed canary grass Phalaris arundinacea is a perennial grass that can reach around 1.5 to 2 metres in height. It grows wild in all parts of the country, with the exception of the northernmost reaches of Finland.
      The cultivation tests of reed canary grass started in the 1990s, reports researcher Timo Lötjönen from MTT.
      One of the issues under consideration was whether reed canary grass fibres could replace birch fibres as raw material for the pulp and paper industry.
      The tests were a success, but notwithstanding the plant's apparent suitability to the task in hand, none of the pulp mills was willing to invest in canary grass.
     
In the current millennium, reed canary grass has been grown for burning as bricks or pellets, although it can also be used as a hay crop and to provide forage for animals.
      The grass thrives in swamps, for example in peat bogs which have been removed from production.
      As a perennial, it does not require as much work as cereals, which is why - in addition to peat producers VAPO - reed canary grass has interested many farmers who are approaching retirement age.
     
When it comes to the environment, reed canary grass is an excellent plant to cultivate.
      It binds carbon dioxide from the air to its stem and roots, thus staving off the greenhouse effect.
      At the same time, its dense growth prevents peat and other soil ingredients from running into waters.
      One of the most commonly-used herbicides for controlling reed canary grass - a rather persistent species that can be difficult to eradicate - is glyphosate, which can be deployed to turn a reed canary grass field back to another use.
     
There is still peat left at the Iljansuo bog in Ilomantsi, and VAPO is willing to turn its useless canary grass fields back into a peat production area.
      Local people are now fearing the upcoming spraying of glyphosate over the vast reed canary grass beds, which are equal to about 1,000 football fields.
     
”What will happen to the drainage systems, if glyphosate is sprayed over such vast areas? We do not want to become environmental guinea-pigs, just as the neighbours of the Talvivaara nickel mine in the Kainuu region did”, says research scientist Tuire Nygrén from the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, one of the top names in the list of critics opposing peat production in Ilomantsi.
      The problems at Talvivaara have been much in the news of late (see article from November).
      ”Glyphosate is a normal pesticide. However, we will investigate in cooperation with environmental authorities how the reed canary grass fields could be rooted out”, promises Farming Manager Pasi Sironen from VAPO.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 8.12.2011


Previously in HS International Edition:
  State-run energy company VAPO´s advertising campaign for peat faces stiff criticism from environmentalists (20.4.2010)

See also:
  Environment Minister faults lax supervision over Talvivaara mine (25.11.2011)

Links:
  Agrifood Research Finland (MTT)
  VAPO
  VAPO: Energy Crops
  Reed canary grass (Wikipedia)

MATTI HUUSKONEN / Helsingin Sanomat
matti.huuskonen@hs.fi