In 1996 the total amount of arable land was 2,6 million hectare of which 2,1million hector was cultivated. Cultivation of wheat and oil-seed plants is restricted to Southern Finland meanwhile barley, oats, grasses and potatoes can be cultivated in most parts of the country. Animal husbandry, especially milk production is the most profitable production form in most parts of the country. The shorter growing season brings about considerably lower yield levels of the field crop species than what is case in the Central European countries. Research and development of non food plant production started in late 80's.
Paper industry uses starch, which is the most important commercial non food product in Finland.
Development of other non food products is going on and most promising species like reed canary grass, hemp, linseed and some herbal species are now in research and pilot stage. Production of non food plants could be one alternative for Finnish farmers, and cultivation of them may also help slowing down the depopulation from rural areas of Finland. The main bottleneck in non food-production is processing and commercial use of new products. Further research and demonstration work is needed to make the production economically profitable.