Green Girl Abroad: Moving in with the Marttilas

Tuesday of week 5 in Finland I moved to Marttila farm in Jalasjärvi for 11 days of work experience. This farm was ranked 29^th largest in Finland in 2010, owning 240 hectares of cropland (and renting 200ha to farm) as well as 400ha of forestland. The enterprise is run by the Marttila family, of which three generations are currently helping out; the grandparents, the son and his wife along with their four children. They grow grasses, barley, oats, wheat and rapeseed on their crop plots. The timber and cropland is scattered all over Jalasjärvi, There are about 140 milking cows, 100 heifers and 50 calves in two different barns used for dairy production and eventually meat. The breeds include Holstein-Friesian and Ayrshire cattle. The main cow house has two robots that collect about 10,000kg of milk from each cow per year. They also have about 1000 fattening pigs, 200 of which were taken to slaughter this week. It is quite the impressive set up, especially with their “summer cottage” out by the lake on their property complete with a swimming pool, sauna, indoor barbecue ring, and just about anything else you might need for a quiet getaway.

Saara, my host mother and one of the people in charge of the farm, picked me up from Ilmajoki and brought me to Jalasjärvi on Tuesday morning to begin my work. She gave me a tour of their house, surrounding property and introduced me to her family. The grandparents do not speak English but are very friendly. Saara's husband, Kyösti, was very busy harvesting because the rain has made this season difficult for farmers to collect this year’s yield. The children returned from school one at a time; Eliina is 6 years old, Katariina is 9, Anniina is 13 and Matti is 15. They also have a cat and a dog that the kids adore. The girls were very shy at first, Eliina hasn’t learned English yet and Katariina is just starting to learn in school but when we all went to the cow houses to start working they perked up quite a bit. The kids are hard working in the barn, helpful to their mother, happy and they get along well. Matti speaks wonderful English and works hard after school helping with the harvest and cow feeding. Anniina sets a strong example for her younger sisters by diligently cleaning, shuffling (and shoving and tugging) cows around the barns.

There is a routine for our chores in the cow house (or, Navetta in Finnish), which are completed in the morning and afternoon daily. We cleaned the cow houses by scraping away the various wet, colorful and pungent excrement, then spreading thin wood chips or peat to dry the bedding platforms. Cow health and cleanliness are closely related priorities on the farm. We distributed hay and silage, checked for water and gave the calves milk in each of the barns. Saara looked on the computer to see what cows had been milked and if they hadn’t been to the robot at least twice since our last visit we would herd that cow to the robot and make sure nothing was wrong with it. If there were any new calves we would move them to the calf rooms and milk the mother’s nutrient-rich colostrum to feed them. If any inseminations needed to be made we would meet the provider and guide them to the cow. If any cows needed to be moved between the expectant mothers’ area, milk ‘drying’ area or any calves to the heifer area we would do that as well. It was an interesting new experience to see how their dairy functions, especially how the children knew exactly what needed to be done, how to do it and patiently helped me learn. I was also impressed by the high-tech robots that identify, clean the udder and automatically milk as the cows come to their station. As part of the incentive for cows to go get milked, the robot rewards them with tasty feed depending on their milking history. The robot also provides information for the meticulous record-keeping that allows Saara to electronically chart heat patterns, milk production, calving history, weight and more for each cow.

Though I’ve never worked on a farm the Marttila family has made me feel extremely welcome and appreciated. I’m constantly amazed at how busy the family is; Kyösti, and the grandfather, Sameli, have been working around the clock on the harvest along with the son Matti (when he isn’t at school) and a couple other workers. Saara is incredibly involved caring for her children, the cow houses, cleaning up around the house, preparing meals for the family and workers with the help of the grandmother, Kaisu, while somehow still finding time to spend with her kids and me. Her life is so busy, I feel very lucky she pays such close attention to my interests, teaches me about life in Jalasjärvi while showing me the town and accommodates me graciously during my short stay. Saara also expends a lot of energy speaking English to me and looking up words she doesn’t know how to translate while I cannot hold a conversation in Finnish yet. Even the family members who cannot speak English treat me so well.

This week has reminded me of how actions can speak much louder than words. Working hard, common courtesy, smiling, sharing good food and simply trying to understand each other are things go above and beyond the language barrier. My host mother said to me, “Countries are different, but people are the same.” Being welcomed into the Marttila family certainly takes the edge off the alienation of being an inexperienced foreign worker on one of the biggest farms in Finland during the busiest time of year; the autumn harvest. I try to return the generosity and compassion being shown to me by working hard in the cow house and helping cook and clean at home.