Photo: Reijo Onnela, from the book Kosteiko's life in a bird swamp

Agriculture in Hahkiala

According to historical research, at its largest the Hahkiala manor has included about 8,000 hectares of land. At the end of the 19th century, 3000 hectares of land belonged to Hahkiala. At the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, the area of Hahkiala was 2239 hectares. There were 215 hectares of arable land and 1683 hectares of forest land. There were 26 horses, 99 cows and 55 pigs on the farm.

Today, you can experience the diversity of nature on the lands of the Manor

Today, Hahkiala has a total of more than 100 hectares of fields, which are cultivated by an external operator. As a rule, seed grain is grown for Kesko on the lands of Hahkiala. Cereals are barley, oats, rye and rapeseed. Of course, there are always small deviations. In addition, a local farmer grows food potatoes on Hahkiala's lands.

In Hahkiala, the goal is an efficient farming method that takes into account the issues required for nature conservation. We strive for efficient production while respecting the well-being of nature.

Part of the nature improvement work is "increasing diversity", which started in 2005, where the beaches of Kirrise, Hyvikkälä and Vuorenselä were fenced. The lovely long-haired cleaners on the shore pastures in the summer are an old breed of highland cattle originally from Scotland. The Highlanders take care of the maintenance of the waterside pastures in a natural way and at the same time delight our guests with their fluffy nature. The natural improvement works that have been carried out have obviously changed two important things: among other things, wood gourds have appeared in the area and the beaches are incredibly clean.

Sociocultural responsibility

At the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, Hakiala had more than 1,600 hectares of forest land. Today, there are about 400 hectares of economic forest. Forest areas are developed respecting nature and cherishing diversity. The purpose is that especially the game would enjoy themselves in our forests. In 2003 and 2004, deer were planted in the forest in order to speed up the arrival of small ungulates in the area.

From time to time, you meet a woodchuck or a deer in the forest, but they have decreased due to monotonous forest management. Population growth is also currently limited by large populations of predators. Lynxes especially thrive in the area.

Metsälampi was established to prevent nutrients from draining into waterways in the former drained swamp area. Thinking about the future, our main interest is good management of the forest. We want the heirs to have a well-kept and versatile forest to look after. Forest management is important to us.

Hahkiala wetlands

In 2018, a large bird marsh wetland was built on the lands of Hahkiala to preserve biodiversity and reduce the water load of agriculture. The Lintusuo wetland is 13 hectares, making it one of the largest wetlands in Southern Finland. In addition to that, there are five smaller wetlands in Hahkiala, the total area of which is about 20 hectares. These serve as drainage basins for the surrounding forests and fields. The story of the bird swamp is told in the book "The life of a wetland in a bird swamp, Hahkiala manor", published in the summer of 2022, with the wonderful bird photos taken by Reijo Onnela. The book can be purchased from Hahkiala myynti@hahkiala.com or ordered from Bookcover's online store.