Cultivation and experimental work
Apetit is firmly rooted in Finnish primary production. Apetit’s approximately 150 contract growers cultivate millions kilos of domestic vegetables for Apetit’s Säkylä frozen foods plant. Apetit is Finland’s largest procurer of contract-grown field vegetables.
Apetit has developed the Apetit Farming method through long-term cooperation with its contract farmers.
Apetit Farming method:
- continuous development work at Apetit’s Räpi experimental farm in terms of both methods and varieties
- general principles of cultivation, quality and product safety and environmental management
- crop-specific cultivation guidelines and principles
- plant protection measures only for identified needs
- documentation of cultivation measures in the ViRe cultivation system
- traceability of vegetables on a batch-by-batch basis to the field
- documentation: cultivation history for varieties, preceding crops and crop rotation, measures taken and soil information, as well as the results of previous harvests to assist in the development of cultivation methods
Continuous development work
At Räpi experimental farm in Köyliö, Säkylä, long-term research and development work has been carried out to develop Finnish open-field vegetable cultivation for 70 years.
The results and experiences gained from the fields of Apetit’s contract growers are also actively utilized to develop the Apetit Farming method. With our own experimental activities, we are looking for the best, tasty varieties suitable for open-field farming, with properties suitable for frozen production.
RypsiRapsi-forum
Apetit participates in the RypsiRapsi-Forum, which is a development group for oilseed crop production. Its objective is to promote the cultivation and profitability of turnip rape and oilseed rape in Finland.
Turnip Rape and Oilseed Rape Forum:
Activities of the RypsiRapsi-forum:
- Brings together industry actors and stakeholders.
- Promotes measures to increase the yield levels and cultivation area of turnip rape and oilseed rape.
- Contributes to coordinating and guiding research, development activities and projects within the sector. The forum also produces new knowledge itself:
- short-term research, e.g. annual variety trials
- long-term research, e.g. crop rotation-related studies
- Produces information to support subsidy policy and plant protection legislation
- Gathers and disseminates information on domestic and international research related to oil crops, as well as best agricultural practices
- comparison of varieties and development of variety selection
- identification of varieties from other markets that are potentially suitable for Finland
- presentation, testing and implementation of economically and environmentally sustainable cultivation practices and methods
- Compiles and maintains a knowledge base for farmers
- basics of oil crop cultivation
- practical information for developing cultivation
- consideration of different geographical regions in cultivation
- compilation and further utilisation of the results from previous research and development activities
