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Traditional Grazing: Native Breeds Are Vital for the Nordic Biodiversity

Date: 2021.09.06

Why are native breeds so well suited to taking care of endangered biotopes? And can a cow really replace mechanical clearing of bushes? Ilmari Majuri, the owner of the Oukamäki farm and a well-known advocate of native Finncattle breeds, talks about the importance of traditional grazing.

“3MC – Nordic Mountain Cattle”, a project lead by NordGen, revives the old cultural heritage of native cattle breeds. Grazing is an essential part of this culture. Mervi Honkatukia, Section Leader at NordGen Farm Animals, sees reviving the grazing tradition as important in conservation work:

“With the structural changes in agriculture and the disappearance of small-scale farms, the grazing of natural meadows has declined. Grazing animals are needed to keep the landscape open, and native breeds are well suited for this purpose. Grazing animals are also needed to increase human well-being and to remind us of the existence of native breeds.”

The Tradition Is Continued

For ages, Tornio was called the city of cattle. The banks of the free-flowing border river maintained a flourishing livestock economy during the era of traditional agriculture. This tradition is continued by Ilmari Majuri, whose herd grazes 20 hectares of natural meadows on Pelttari Island and the banks of the Tornionjoki River.

“In the old days, the prosperity of large farms was based on these flooded meadows. The climate is favourable, and nutrients brought by the flood promote the growth of meadows. The ownership of the meadows has been divided into very small strips, which shows how valuable they were.” Majuri described.

When the traditional agriculture came to an end by the 1960s, everything changed. As small-scale farming and local livestock breeds disappeared, grazing of natural meadows also declined.

Vital for Biodiversity

Ilmari Majuri praises his Eastern Finncattle animals as excellent at grazing and maintaining biodiversity. The farmer can see the concrete changes they bring to the landscape.

“Cattle are vital for biodiversity. In the pastures, the number of swallows increases considerably. The wires are full of swallows, but on sheep or horse pastures I don’t notice quite the same”, Majuri describes.

The competition for light and living space is often the fate of many plant species that thrive on traditional biotopes. When abandoned, nutrient-rich meadows have been covered with nettles, while slightly acidic soils are dominated by tallgrowing species such as meadowsweets.

Ilmari Majuri’s herd grazes 20 hectares of natural meadows on Pelttari Island and the banks of the Tornionjoki River. Image: Ilmari Majuri

Majuri says that Eastern Finncattle get along well with these plants alone, and at the same time, they clear the space for small meadow species.

“Already in the first grazing year, the cattle trample down the dry dead grass. In the second and third years, you can clearly see the change. Raspberries, meadowsweets and willowherbs decline and are replaced by pasture grasses and meadow plants. The landscape changes completely when the two-metre-high thicket disappears”.

Cows Far Better Than Mechanical Clearing

Majuri does not use a bush saw to clear his meadows.

“Eastern Finncattle takes care of the clearing easily, if it is allowed to graze without additional feed. And according to the conditions of the subsidy I receive for keeping endangered native breeds, supplementary feed must not be used. The idea is that grazing removes nutrients from the soil. Therefore, the correct grazing pressure is essential. In the first year, more animals are needed, in the following years the pasture will maintain a smaller number of animals” Majuri explains.

Majuri’s cows are descended from the well-known Nenonen cattle from Eastern Finland. The feed conversion efficiency of the cattle has been excellent in suckler beef production. The Northern Finncattle is recently bred towards milk production, so they do not do so well on natural pastures but need more nutritious feed.

Phenomenal Agility

The phenomenal agility of the Eastern Finncattle makes the farmer’s job easier. Majuri has had cattle also in the southern parts of Finland, and at first, he was worried about how the animals would cope on the wet soils of the flooded meadows.

One reason why grazing came to an end on these meadows was the growing popularity of imported dairy breeds. Big dairy cows easily sank in the meadows and had to be pulled up from the mud by the whole village.

“At first, I was afraid that my animals would get stuck, and I watched them very closely. Now I trust that they will make it. They are agile and they are also clever enough to avoid the worst places. I have never had to pull a cow from a swamp” Majuri said.

A Win-Win Situation

Mervi Honkatukia explains, that using native breeds as guardians of biodiversity while saving them for the future is a win-win situation. She firmly believes in the power of communication, collaboration and networks.

“At NordGen, we establish networks and advice governments and institutions in questions relating to sustainable conservation and utilization of farm animal genetic resources. In this, it is important to take right types of measurements – to help both the animals and those who wish to take care of them. We need more pioneers such as Ilmari Majuri to continue to inspire native cattle farmers to graze traditional biotopes.” Honkatukia concludes.

Are you interested in learning more about farm animal genetic resources and how they can benefit the management of meadows and fields? Get in touch with NordGen Farm Animals.

The 3MC project is funded with a grant from EU Interreg Nord and Länsstyrelsen Norrbotten 2019-2022 and has 5 Nordic partners. NordGen is the coordinator for the project as well as responsible for investigating pedigree and population kinship, dissemination of results and implementation of applications. NordGen will also be responsible for establishing the network of preservers.