Many agricultural producers are sceptical about sending their children back to school for fear that they might bring coronavirus home with them.
Government announced last week that children should return to contact learning in daycares, pre-school and primary secondary schools on 14 May. But many farmer parents have already applied for leave of absences for their children.
Farmers' associations around the country have also reported that concerned farmers have been reaching out to them over the matter.
Producers such as Tiina and Kari Hautakoski from Halsua in western Finland told Yle that they have decided to keep their three primary schoolers at home for the last two weeks of the academic year, which ends on 30 May.
"If either of us gets sick, it would also be a tough blow financially. The risk is that the most important work of the season won't get done. We are already sowing and fertilising 150 hectares. We need to make animal feed and ensure the animals are healthy. Otherwise we won't have any income," Tiina Hautakoski explained.
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One of the major concerns in the industry is that there will not be enough seasonal workers for each farm if many people come down with the virus.
The Hautakoskis said that they do not want to take any risk that their 250 head of cattle will not be cared for in the event of sickness, and that some of them might have to be put down as a result.
"We cannot afford to get sick. There would be even graver consequences if we are unable to work. And I understand fully that for some the situation is completely different and that children returning to school is a relief," she added.
Hautakoski is not alone. A dairy farmers' Facebook group with more than 1,000 members features similar comments from a large number who say they would prefer to keep their kids at home.
Farmers already struggling financially
When they applied for their children to be away from school, the Hautakoskis argued that they work in a field classified as critical by the government -- primary production.
"We sincerely hope that there is understanding for our situation. This final two-week sprint is not so important for the children that we should risk the work to be done during spring and summer," they declared.
A bout of sickness in one of the most important seasons in the farming calendar would spell financial disaster for farms that already in dire straits. Those concerns are shared by Ostrobothnian farmers' associations.
"The fear is probably rooted in the long-running [financial] distress of the agricultural sector. Farmers are stretched and overworked. Many farms rely on the expertise of just one person," said Ari Perälä, Southern Ostrobothnian field manager of the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK).
MTK noted however that some farm owners have also reached out to say that they are relieved that children will be heading back to their classrooms.
"Families are different: some have so much farming work that they don't necessarily have any time to supervise their children's education at home," MTK's Central Ostrobothnian representative Jouni Ingalsuo commented.
Farms taking precautions against virus
Farms are taking steps to prepare for possible outbreaks and some have also brought backup workers up to speed on the most critical tasks to be performed. So far, there have been no reported coronavirus infections among farmers in the Ostrobothnia region.
If farmers are forced into quarantine because they are suspected of having been infected, they can take vacation or apply for assistance to hire a paid replacement, according to Mela, the Farmers' Social Insurance Institution.
However the supply of reserve labour varies significantly from place to place. It is easy to find contractors who perform a large part of the field work in the Central Ostrobothnia, for example.
Although farms may have written instructions describing how to feed and care for animals, farmers still worry about finding workers who know the work and the region.
Meanwhile, at the Hautakoski farm, the bulk of the work falls to two people and there are no hired hands.
"If we get sick, will we be able to get replacements we know? Or will we have to train new people remotely? It's not so easy to go to a new farm, regardless of how good the instructions are," the couple said.
There is one neighbour whom the Hautakoskis said is willing to feed the animals, but other aspects of husbandry, such as assisting with calving and operating automated milking systems fall to regular replacements and the couple themselves, they explained.
"Our best replacement is our 15-year-old daughter. She knows all the farm work, but she can't do it all alone," they noted.
