The cattle farming Finland meets at the KoneAgria exhibition

The KoneAgria exhibition in Jyväskylä, Finland will be extremely diversified. New high-quality content will be provided by our new partners: the organisation of milk production enterprises (Maitoyrittäjät) and Finn Dairy Expo. The best of dairy cattle will also be included for the first time in KoneAgria’s history. In addition, we will celebrate the 120 years of animal recording activities in Finland.

“Once again, the exhibition halls will be full in Jyväskylä with an extensive offering. Jyväskylä is an excellent venue for the milk producers and cattle farmers active in the region”, says exhibition manager Marko Toivakka.

Finn Dairy Expo 2018 will bring the actual milk production operators – dairy cattle – to Jyväskylä for the first time. Space has been reserved for approximately a hundred animals. Both of the main dairy cattle breeds in Finland, Ayrshire and Holstein, will be represented.

“The location in the middle of the main milk production region of Finland as well as the perfectly suited display facilities of the Paviljonki Congress and Trade Fair Centre make Jyväskylä an excellent venue for a dairy cattle exhibition”, says Mirja Koljonen from Finn Dairy Expo.

The programme will include a competition for dairy cattle breeds, a livestock auction and an awarding ceremony for the best animals. Our partners include Conexx, Demeca, Feedex, HH Embryo, HK Scan and the dairy cooperative of Hämeenlinna.

The organisation of milk production enterprises (Maitoyrittäjät) will arrange a highly topical seminar dealing with the issue of reducing milk prices (translation of the Finnish title: How to compensate for the milk price reduction?). The seminar's keynote speaker is Lindell Whitelock, a brilliant American milk farm management expert, a real dairy farming wizard. Experiences in the application of his disciplines on Finnish farms will be shared with the attendees by a milk production entrepreneur and a veterinarian.

This year we celebrate the 120th anniversary of animal recording and breeding of dairy cattle in Finland. The anniversary is celebrated at the KoneAgria exhibition in a seminar with the members of the animal recording organisation invited as guests. During the seminar, Finnish and foreign milk producers will explain how they manage their farms by knowledge. Another theme provides a glimpse of the future of milk production opportunities.

Highly topical issues for Finnish professionals

ProAgria’s programme includes seminars and information sessions dealing with highly topical matters.

KoneAgria will proudly present a tool for supporting farm management – Bisnes+ – an electronic desktop to be first made available to dairy farms. Other seminars and info sessions deal with ecology, carbon footprint, organic farming and shifting from agriculture to bioeconomy.

The Finnish Forest Centre organises a programme dealing with combustion of fresh and wet woodchips, emissions caused by wood burning, as well as the possibilities of dairy farms to achieve self-sufficiency in the use of energy. The cooperation partners are the Bioenergy Association of Finland, Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences and the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). A seminar will be organised by the project organisation “Lähienergialla omavaraisuuteen” (With local energy to self-sufficiency).

A seminar arranged by forestry organisation Tapio Oy deals with many questions related to the use of wood ash as a fertiliser, for example, whether it is also suited, besides peat land, to mineral soil and its potential hazards to human health. This seminar is the final seminar of Tapio's project “Use of wood ash for fertilising mineral soil forests” carried out in cooperation with the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Apila Group Oy and Ecolan Oy.

The Food System Studies group of University of Jyväskylä will organise a round-table discussion on alternative protein sources. The topics discussed include more sustainable methods of forage production, as well as the possibilities provided by new crops, insects and fungi as a complementary production sector.

ProAgria is strongly present in the event offering

KoneAgria is one of the events organised by ProAgria (Finnish Rural Advisory Service Specialist) with its target field clearly in machines, equipment and technology.

“Our exhibitions, such as KoneAgria, Fannari, Peltopäivä and Silva, are strong in their own sectors, and based on the customer feedback, they are events that are very much desired by the public. Our exhibitions strengthen our position as an independent professional advisor. Therefore, we want to further grow and expand our exhibitions in accordance with the needs of exhibitors and customers”, says managing director Juha Nuutila from the Association of ProAgria Centres.

This year, the core of the KoneAgria exhibition consists of cattle farm equipment and accessories as well as solutions for grass and forage production. Solutions and services for agricultural construction will be in a more prominent position. Energy production solutions and equipment, forest and field energy and other renewable energy sources are also clearly visible in the event. The wide range of offering ensures that there is a lot to see and experience for all agricultural professionals. The main partners of KoneAgria are again Ab Tomas Kjellman, Pellon Group Oy and Lantmännen Agro Oy.

The KoneAgria exhibition is organised by FKS-Tapahtumat Oy with a strong background support from the ProAgria network.

The KoneAgria exhibition will take place at the Congress and Trade Fair Centre Jyväskylä Paviljonki between 11 and 13 October 2018.

www.koneagria.fi

Further information:

KoneAgria
Marko Toivakka, Managing Director, FKS-Tapahtumat Oy, +358 (0)400 735 259, marko.toivakka@proagria.fi

ProAgria
Juha Nuutila, Managing Director, Association of ProAgria Centres, +358 (0)500 705 060, juha.nuutila@proagria.fi

Animal recording
Sanna Nokka, Senior Specialist, Association of ProAgria Centres, +358 (0)40 167 6363, sanna.nokka@proagria.fi

Finn Dairy Expo
Mirja Koljonen, +358 (0)400 861 988, Eliisa Kumpula, +358 (0)50 373 1807, Vilma Pohjola, +358 (0)50 324 8061

Maitoyrittäjät ry
Henna Mero, Executive Manager, Maitoyrittäjät ry, +358 (0)40 589 6202, henna.mero@maitoyrittajat.fi

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Translated from the media release published in Finnish 3 May 2018.