Lithuania Agriculture Profile 2012

Of the 6.5 million ha. of land, the utilized agricultural area (UAA) is 3.5 million ha. (i.e. 54% of the total); arable land accounts for 2.95 million ha. (84.1% of UAA) followed by meadows and natural pastures (0.496m ha., or 14.2% of UAA). A high proportion of the arable land is in forage cropping, including temporary grassland (44.4% of crop area); approximately 1.8 million ha. are covered with forest while more than 1 million ha. of hilly and other land are not used for agriculture. About 50% of the UAA land is planted with cereals. Some land within the UAA is now abandoned and this has been estimated at 0.36m ha. or 10% of UAA (EU DG VI Report, 1998 and Rural Development Plan ,RDP, 1999).

In the Soviet period most agricultural produce came from collective and state farms. In total there were about 3000 collective farms, typically with around 1000 ha., and 400 state farms with an average size of 4500ha. Both groups together covered about 3.1-3.2 million ha. which amounted to about 90% of all agricultural land; household farmers used the rest.

Main crops such as cereals and sugar beet were grown on the large-scale farms, but the share of the small farms in livestock production was higher. Between 1970 and 1990 the household farms produced about 40% of the total amount of milk. At the beginning of this period their share in meat production also amounted to nearly 40%, but this figure declined to about 20% by 1990. Total meat production increased in this period from 390,000 tonnes to about 530,000 tonnes (carcass weight), whereas meat production on household farms declined; total milk production increased from 2.5 million tonnes to 3.2 million tonnes. The number of dairy cows was relatively constant, varying between 840,000 and 875,000 head. In the same period the annual milk production per cow increased from 2950 to 3800 kg.

Restitution of land to private owners began in 1989 under perestroyka. These new owners (known as "89’ers") gained a headstart over subsequent new private farmers because they had favourable terms for borrowing money; high inflation since has further reduced the original cost of their loans.

Lithuania gained independence from The Soviet Union in 1991 and since then restitution has continued at a faster rate. Where previous family ownership can be proved the new owners are known as "restitution farmers" but most land has been returned to village families, who have no prior ownership claims, in small lots of 2 to 3 ha.; these are known as "plotters". Much of this land is farmed by the new owners as household plots, but also a large proportion is retained by surviving former collective/state farms who pay rent for the land often in the form of produce rather than money. These farms have also been privatised and are now known as "bendroves" or joint stock companies and are often involved in ventures such as food processing and other trading activities. Their number is much reduced compared to former collectives/state farms.

The whole process of land restitution has proved difficult and complex and has been delayed by several changes to the law since 1991. Physical restitution of land is well ahead of land registration so that a land market is slow to develop due to the difficulty of proving ownership. At the same time, however, there is an active lease market.

The structure of the cow herd changed dramatically with the disbanding/privatisation of the collective farms (bendroves), when much of the production was dispersed into small farms and family plots. The production and consumption levels in the dairy sector have since stabilised. Direct domestic consumption has increased, as has the number of household cows, while sales to dairy companies have declined.

Beef production is seen mainly as a by-product of milk production with the average weight of slaughtered animals low at around 300 kg. The decline in this sector continues due to the general drop in livestock numbers.

Sheep production has always been very limited with only 15,900 head recorded in 1999. Goat numbers are also very low but have almost quadrupled since 1992 as sheep numbers have declined (FAO database). Goats have become more popular as household animals for domestic milk production.

Livestock numbers since 1992 are shown in table 2; the dominance of cattle

Table 2 - Grazing Livestock Numbers

Source: FAO database 2002

Production and also the decline in their numbers since independence in 1991 is evident.

Almost one third of the land is forested and this industry contributes significantly to the economy of Lithuania with the export of wood and wood products providing 10% of total export value.

The loss of markets in the former Soviet Union, the fall in domestic consumption and the complex process of land reform have combined to cause Lithuanian agricultural production to decline by 50% during the transition period to 1998 (EU DG VI Report); the decline in production is likely to have continued to the present.

2. SOILS AND TOPOGRAPHY

2.1 Major topographical features

Although Lithuania is predominantly flat, it has two broad bands of territory, which often exceed 150 m above sea level: one is down the eastern quarter of the country, on the border with Belarus, reaching its highest levels in the Medininku Upland in the south east where the country’s highest point is located (Juozapines 294 m); the other band is the Zemaitija Upland, which spreads over much of the north west and reaches a height of 234 m. The River Nemunas is the biggest of Lithuania’s rivers, flowing north from Belarus to the centre of the country at Kaunas, Lithuania’s second city and former capital, where it is joined by the Neris flowing in from the capital, Vilnius, to the east. The Nemunas then flows westwards and forms the boundary with Kaliningrad as it nears the Baltic.

Marshes and swamps are prevalent especially in the north and east, although much of the original wetlands have been drained for agriculture. More than 3000 shallow lakes remain, being most numerous in the north east.

Over 80% of the country has been drained using an underground tile drainage system feeding into open field laterals. This large-scale drainage programme, covering over two million hectares, was completed in 1991, but has not been well maintained. Nevertheless land which formerly was not suited to cropping because of waterlogging is now available for tillage.

The wetlands make up a large part of the Silute District to the south west. Some of this is below sea level and has been drained with a system of dykes and pumped drainage channels. They are part of the delta or flood plains on the northern banks of the Nemunas river. This was a major engineering project during Soviet times.

Lithuanian also has large reserves of peat.

Lithuania’s Baltic coast extends for about 100 km, half of which lies along the Courland Spit (Neringa), a long, narrow sandbar 98 km long and up to 66 m high, but no more than four km wide. Behind this is a large freshwater lagoon running down into Russian Kaliningrad. The Nemunas empties into this lagoon which has a narrow opening into the Baltic at its north end at Klaipeda, Lithuania’s large seaport.

3 CLIMATE AND ECOLOGICAL ZONES

3.1 General climate – effects of topography

The climate of Lithuania is transitional between maritime and continental; in the 12-15 km-wide coastal zone it is maritime and in the eastern part of the country it is continental. It is characterised by moderate heat in summer as well as by adequate humidity and a sufficient number of sunny days. The negative features include long autumns and winters, and a relatively short growing period (169 – 202 days). Winters tend to be overcast and variable in temperature and snow cover is by no means continuous because cold periods can be followed by sudden thaws. The average annual temperature is approximately 6° C with average January temperature of -4.8° C, and average July temperature of +17.2° C. The average annual precipitation is 626 mm; most rain falls in summer which often hampers farming operations such as haymaking and the harvesting of crops. The weather is generally very changeable and there is a significant variation in the rainfall patterns and minimum temperatures between the east and west of the country: the eastern half experiences colder winter temperatures and the western coastal areas experience higher precipitation levels due to the maritime influence of the Baltic. Figure 3 shows the difference between Klaipeda in the west and Vilnius in the east.

3.2 Agro-ecological zones

Although Lithuania is low lying, the land is undulating to the east and west and very low lying to the south west and extreme north west.

Separating these areas is a wide band of well-drained level fertile soil in the central area widening to the north west. This central plain is the main arable area and comprises nearly 50% of the agricultural land. Traditionally there have also been large dairy herds in this area, with forage crops providing the rotation with arable crops. Cereals dominate arable cropping, with spring barley the most widely grown, followed by winter wheat, rye and oats. Winter barley does not survive Lithuanian winters. Likewise oilseed rape is increasingly grown but only as a spring crop. Maize is increasingly grown but it fails to produce mature grain due to the short growing season and is used for forage only. Sugar beet is widely grown for sugar extraction and fodder beet is grown for animal feed. Buckwheat is cropped mostly in the sandy soils in the east of the country. Potatoes are widely grown and used for food (potatoes are regarded as the second ‘bread’), animal feed, and seed. National dishes made from potatoes, ‘cepelinai’ and ‘vedarai’, have gained wide popularity.

Other notable zones are the Silute wetlands to the south west bordering the Nemunas delta. This area was drained prior to the second world war and during the Soviet period to leave fertile polders that were used to grow grass for drying, but in the absence of cheap oil supplies from Russia this practice has now been abandoned and much of the land remains unutilized.

Forest dominates the upland and sandy areas. Over a quarter of the land mass is forest which is well dispersed throughout Lithuania on land of lower fertility or poor drainage. There are also large forest areas east of Silute, west of Kaunas and north east of Vilnius. The largest forest, however, lies to the south west of Vilnius, centring on Varena, and extends in a wide band down to the border with Belarus.

4. RUMINANT LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

According to the national census of 1998 the cattle population was as per Table 3.

Table 3 - Number of cattle according to age and gender (thousands)

The main features are:

• the dominance of the dairy sector
• the high proportion of cattle on plotters holdings (57%)
• the very low numbers of cattle for fattening
• the high proportion of fattening cattle on bendroves

Table 4 shows how meat and milk production has varied over recent years.

Table 4 - Production trends (‘000 metric tonnes)

Table 4 - Production trends (‘000 metric tonnes)

Source: FAO database 2002

4.2 Dairy

There are two main cattle breeds, the Lithuanian Black-and-White (about 60% of cows), originally based on Dutch Friesians and the Lithuanian Red (about 40%). The Black-and Whites are noted for higher milk yields and the Reds for higher butter fat content. Recently there has been a trend towards crossing with Holstein / Friesians due to an increasing availability of semen from abroad. Very few bulls are kept on farms and there is an AI service available; however, the choice of semen for household cows is very limited.

Prior to transition, Lithuanian dairy herds were housed in large, tie-up stall houses which were fitted with milk pipelines and chain and conveyor muck disposal systems. Each house would normally have 200 stalls, with 50 cows per milker. Forage feeding was from a central passageway. Milk was delivered by pipeline to refrigerated bulk tanks. The system was typical of many former communist block countries. Many of these herds still exist on the majority of surviving bendroves and until 1997 very few of these farms had started to modernise housing and milking facilities.

These herds are generally fed on poor quality forage based on silage supplemented with hay, straw, wet sugar beet pulp and fodder beet plus cereals and peas/ beans as a concentrate. By western standards the ration is of low energy and is inadequately supplemented with both energy and protein. The cereals and peas are often fed only once during the day. Extra supplementation with cereals would generally be cost effective but it is difficult to persuade financially hard pressed herd managers that the extra feeding is worthwhile. Cows are generally in poor condition and this delays milk yield response to improved feeding.

Since 1997 a few bendroves have started to modernise production methods with the installation of the latest parlours and a change to loose housing with cubicles. On other farms, although the tie-up cowsheds have been retained, milking systems have been modernised by replacing old Soviet equipment with modern pipeline and new bulk cooling systems. In most cases the old buildings have been used as an umbrella for the refurbished interiors. Some of these farms have also purchased mixer feeder wagons to improve the speed, quality and accuracy of the feeding.

As indicated earlier the majority of dairy cows are with plotters who typically keep two cows. These produce more milk than can be used by the households so the surplus is taken to village collection points where the milk is collected by tanker for processing. The feeding of the cows during winter is usually with hay plus fodder beet and cereal/pulses. Poor quality hay plus low levels of supplementation result in low yields.

A major problem with plotters’ milk is that it is of poor hygienic quality due to a lack of proper cooling; storage of milk in wells is usually the cooling method employed. There are no cooling facilities at village collection points and milk is not treated until it arrives at the processing plants. Penalties for poorer quality milk are becoming increasingly severe so that unless plotters co-operate to acquire refrigerated cooling facilities it is likely that their milk will become progressively more difficult to sell. According to the RDP (1999) only 14% of total raw milk sold in 1998 was of grade A quality (EU standard). This is reported to have increased to 33% in 1999 (Kadzuilis – personal communication).

Tethering of cows for grazing is the norm for plotters’ cows. Water is brought by bucket to the cows two or three times a day and the cows are hand milked. Water restriction almost certainly reduces yields.

There is a steadily developing private dairy herd sector with a herd size of between 5 and 30 cows. These are generally hand milked but in these herds there is a steady move to machine milking and a trend away from tethered grazing. There is also an increasing number of refrigerated milk cooling installations on these farms. This is strongly encouraged by both dairies and the government, with the provision of limited preferential loans and subsidies. There is also a move to improve forage production through reseeding of grassland and conservation as silage rather than hay.

This private or family farm sector is seen as the major growth area to replace the milk from plotter’s production. Government policy is aimed at encouraging this growth with subsidies under the Rural Support Fund available for modernisation of such herds with the proviso that a business plan is prepared for growth of the herd size to 30 cows over a maximum 5-year period. As the funds are limited there is competition to access them. There have also been problems in obtaining loans from banks at reasonable interest rates.

Table 5 - Milk Projections

Source: EU DG VI Report 1998

It is clear that an increase in production was anticipated in 1998 but this was before the Russian crisis. It is likely that production will now be less than these expectations. The RDP,1999 estimates that current production amounts to 208% self sufficiency, so clearly Lithuania needs to export to reduce its milk surpluses despite a high level of milk consumption per head of the population. So far it has been heavily dependent on exports to Russia, however a good proportion of Lithuania’s larger dairies have EU certified export licences.

4.3 Beef

There is no history of beef production from suckler cows in Lithuania. All beef production has been as a by-product of the dairy herd. During the Soviet period most bull calves were kept for beef production. Both the Lithuanian Red and Lithuanian Black and White were regarded as dual-purpose breeds. Most beef produced on the former collective and state farms under indoor feeding systems was based predominantly on cereals, with beef exported to Russia. There has never been any tradition of producing beef from grazing.

There are very few statistics available on beef production both before and since Independence. Nevertheless it can be seen from the FAO statistics in Table 4 that there has been a dramatic drop in beef production since 1992 (the first available year’s figures within the database). It is well known that beef production in 1992 had already fallen from a probable peak in 1989/90. It can be seen from Table 3 that few young animals are kept back for slaughter i.e. most are for replacements. The figures demonstrate that most beef is derived from cull cows and this is confirmed by the fact that few former indoor finishing units for bull beef are now in use.

Government policy is to try to stimulate higher levels of specialist beef production with the aim of diversifying away from dairy production, and an extensive programme of subsidies has been created to support beef producing farmers. Young animals when slaughtered are now classified according to weight and subsidies are given when they have reached the minimum liveweight of 400 kg. Beef crosses also receive a higher subsidy than dairy breeds which has led to an increased interest in cross breeding. Pure beef breed animals, when sold for breeding purposes are also well subsidised, since they can contribute significantly to improved beef quality.

There is a need to trial systems of beef production that are more reliant on forages and grassland as an alternative to indoor feedlot beef production. Experimental herds of suckler cows have also been established. So far these have been purebred herds using Hereford, Charolais and Saler breeds. Saler cattle imports are the most recent and a herd has been established at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture at Dotnuva. Charolais and Hereford herds have been established on the Silute wetlands where the most promising breed for the conditions there has been the Herefords (Prof D.C. Juckna, personal communication)

The EU funded Lithuanian Grassland Management Project produced a report on improving beef production in Lithuania (Schukking and Hamnett 1998), following a request from the Lithuanian Government to consider the need to diversify away from the heavy dependence on the dairy sector to utilize the extensive grasslands. Using UK and Dutch physical performance data and linking these to current Lithuanian input and output prices it was possible to make the following recommendations as quoted from the report:

• since barley beef production seems to be a profitable system under the currently prevailing conditions in Lithuania, it is strongly recommended that experiments take place with this system, both in practice and on research institutes;
• the same applies to fattening on maize silage, because there is only limited experience with this system. At the same time more attention should be paid to improving the management of maize growing;
• there should be much more diversification of grazing livestock enterprises within Lithuania;
• cattle for beef finishing should be reared and finished at grass on loose grazing systems as part of this diversification process adopting systems used in other countries. This would help reduce the present under-utilisation of grassland;
• present progress towards the establishment of suckler herds should be accelerated. Replacement heifers for a suckler herd should be beef crossbreds born to the dairy herd;
• the present system of subsidising beef production should be reviewed with a view to harmonising with the EU system;
• a system of beef premium headage payments similar to the EU system should be adopted;
• suckler cows should receive headage payments to accelerate expansion of the suckler herd;
• pedigree beef suckler herds should also be encouraged, to provide a source of beef breeding stock. The bulls produced would be used as bulls for the suckler herd and for AI;
• a system of independent performance recording (weight for age recording) should be considered to provide a measure of genetic merit for pedigree beef suckler herds;
• consideration should be given to subsidising the erection of fencing in marginal areas;
• the ‘SEUROP’ EU beef carcase classification scheme should be introduced as soon as possible.

4.4 Sheep and goat production

There is no tradition of sheep or goat production in Lithuania and numbers for both species are very low as shown in Table 2. Sheep are kept for meat and wool and are not milked; the local sheep breed is the Lithuanian Blackhead and there is only one sizeable flock of around 200 ewes near Seduva in central Lithuania. A few householders keep goats for milk and it is interesting to note that they now outnumber sheep.

The situation further emphasises the dominance of dairying as the only significant user of pasture/forage resources and underlines its vulnerability in the absence of further diversification.

4.5 Animal health

The animal health situation concerning OIE-List A diseases appears to be extremely good. No cases have been reported since 1993, whereas a few cases of OIE-List B diseases like Rabies and Enzootic Bovine Leucosis have occurred. The main obstacle to the trade of pigs and non heat treated pig products with the EU is the continuation of regular vaccination of 60% of the Lithuanian pig populations against Classical Swine Fever. Assistance is required to elaborate disease monitoring and surveillance plans as well as contingency plans.

5. PASTURE RESOURCE

5.1 Forage crops grown

Most Lithuanian grassland has been reseeded in relatively recent times with the oldest grassland probably resown within the last 15 years. Natural grasslands exist in the upland areas in the north west and south east. Reseeding of pasture has traditionally been through undersowing with cereals or sometimes with Italian Ryegrass in the spring. The mix may also include vetches or peas. The cereal crop may be cut early for silage but may alternatively be cut for grain. The aim is to use the cereal crop to smother the early growth of weeds. Traditional seed mixtures include grasses Phleum pratense, Festuca pratensis, Dactylus glomerata, Poa pratensis in order of popularity. Trifolium pratense and repens are also included but T. pratense is much more popular than T. repens, because of its high early yield. Lolium multiflorum is sown for early yield and to compete with early weed development as descibed above. L. perenne is also sown but traditionally has not been popular because of winter survival problems. With new varieties there is now more interest in L. perenne. Seed mixtures tend to contain several species. Dactylus glomerata has been popular and is now widespread through older grasslands. It is a problem since it flowers earlier than most species (mid May in Lithuania) and therefore is over mature when cut for hay. Natural spread is probably due to haymaking and its ability to shed mature seed before many other species.

Lucerne has also been a popular crop for silage production on bendroves and there is also interest in using it for grazing using specially developed varieties. Maize is also grown for silage production on some progressive bendroves and there is increasing interest in its use now that early maturing varieties, that can produce a good crop in most years, are available.

5.2 Problems occurring

Since independence in 1991 there has been a big drop in reseeding of pasture and a reversion to semi-natural grasslands. The situation in the Silute wetlands is typical of what is happening to much of Lithuanian grassland: previously this grassland was cut and artificially dried to produce grass meal for export to Russia; today the wetlands are divided among 12,000 farmers with small average farm size and the number of cows in the area is estimated to be less than 3,000. The grassmeal plants are no longer operational because of the high cost of fuel. Farmers do not have the machinery to harvest silage and the cost of hay machinery for hire is expensive. In an effort to reduce costs farmers have opted to sacrifice hay quality for quantity and are cutting the hay at a much later stage of growth in order to get higher yields. As a result the botanical composition of the wetlands is changing in response to the changes in grassland management, and woody vegetation is invading the area due to the reduced frequency of cutting. This change in botanical composition will reduce the productivity of these grasslands and may have a negative effect on the drainage rate from these lands (Gutauskas,1996).

It is generally agreed that most Lithuanian grassland is in urgent need of improvement, because of undergrazing and a lack of fertiliser application to maintain basic fertility. There is also a shortage of seed for resowing grassland. The low dairy cow yields indicated in Table 5 are mainly due to poor forage quality, which has resulted from the following factors:

• the poor species mix
• a tendency to graze over-mature grass
• late cutting for conservation resulting in low quality winter feed

5.3 Tethering of cows

It is estimated that at least 75% of Lithuanian cows are tethered (Schukking and Hamnett 1998). In theory this is a rotational grazing system that can lead to efficient use of grassland but in practice it is labour intensive because of the need to carry water, move the cows and milk cows in situ. Furthermore any wet weather usually leads to poaching damage to the pasture. The high labour requirement also conflicts with early season land work since most crops are spring sown. This leads to late turnout since there is less work while cattle are still indoors. Grass growth is very rapid in the spring from late April onwards because there is usually a sudden change from cold to warm weather. Late turnout fails to catch this flush of grass growth adequately so that cattle are soon grazing headed grass with low digestibility, and milk yield may also be lost because inevitably cows do not always have adequate access to water.

5.4 Hay making on plotter holdings

The poor quality of grassland is also due to the change in ownership, with much of the grassland and cattle in the hands of plotters who have little knowledge of grassland husbandry or feeding methods. The problem is compounded because they lack the financial and machinery resources to manage the grassland effectively. In the past the large co-operatives made a mixture of hay and silage for winter feed but the plotters now make only hay. Scythes are still in common use although cutter bar mowers are now the norm. It is then usually turned by hand and laid over hurdles to dry. This is an effective method, but very labour intensive. Horses are in common use to pull cutter bar mowers, turn and gather hay and to cart the loose, dried hay back to the barns. There are very few balers in use. The hay is usually cut from mid June onwards.

5.5 Silage production

Silage is usually only made on the remaining bendroves. By western standards it is made too late, usually at the flowering stage. The consolidation at the clamp is often poor because the product is usually over mature and often too dry. Silos are usually sealed off with plastic sheeting but with inadequate attention to sealing at clamp sides and ends. High wastage and overheating are often the result. The emphasis is to achieve maximum harvest of dry matter rather to conserve earlier to maximise yield of digestible organic matter and feeding quality. Silage and hay quality is not helped by the indifferent quality of the swards from which they are made.

5.6 Seed production

The break up of the former co-operatives since independence has lead to a dramatic drop in seed production. Formerly Lithuania was a major producer of forage seed for the former Soviet Union, but production has decreased dramatically since 1989. For example, during 1996 legume seed production was down to 5% of the level in 1986 (Poisson, 1997); table 6 shows the trend for legumes and forage grasses in terms of numbers of ha. producing seed. The main reason for this decline has been the loss of organised production within the former co-operatives and a poor market for seed as farming has re-organised and stock numbers have declined.

Table 6 – Hectares in seed production

Source: Poisson 1997

In 1996 the average seed production per ha. was approximately 25kg for T. pratense, 250kg for T. repens, 250kg for Phleum pratense and 500kg for Festuca pratensis. (Poisson, 1997).

The only legume species which has maintained significant production is T. pratense. At present it would be advisable to sow T. repens, as this is more persistent. Although forage production with Medicago sativa has potential, seed production in the field is very difficult with only 40kg/ha produced. Galega orientalis is arousing new interest for milk production; the potential seed production in trials can reach 500 kg/ha but commercial production is not significant at present (Poisson, 1997).

Seed production of grass is relative to the level of usage with Festuca pratensis and Phleum pratense the main grasses. Dactylis glomerata is grown for silage and grazing but it is frequently under utilised while Lolium perenne has been considered too frost sensitive.

The Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture has been very active in breeding and testing new grass and legume varieties. The expertise still remains. This is an opportunity for the future if Lithuania can gain OECD (Organisation for European Co-operation and Development) standards for variety registration and seed certification.