Johanna Jahkola is preparing to take over her parents’ Hereford operation in Finland.
She wants to learn as much as she can before she does, and her education recently included a week at Canadian Western Agribition where she learned how to show cattle with Harvie Ranching from Olds, Alta.
“My eyes and ears are wide open,” she said with laugh during an interview at the Regina show held Nov. 24 – 29.
Her parents founded their farm in southern Finland in 1962 with Horned Herefords and later switched to polled.
Read Also

VIDEO: British company Antler Bio brings epigenetics to dairy farms
British company Antler Bio is bringing epigenetics to dairy farms using blood tests help tie how management is meeting the genetic potential of the animals.
“It is the main breed in Finland,” Jahkola said.
“The promoting of it has been good. And the breed promotes itself because they are easy-going, do well on grass and pasture and are docile.”
The Jahkola herd includes 35 cows, which she said is medium-sized for that country.
Finland has had much more emphasis on the dairy industry but Jahkola said people are beginning to switch to beef because competition has become so strong.
“The new farms, they go for bigger numbers, like 100 or 200 head.”
Dairy farms need at least 60 head to be competitive, she added.
The 31-year-old said she will be among the youngest farmers in her area when she does take over.
“Young people know there’s lots of work and no pay, and they treasure their leisure time more,” she said.
The Finnish government is wooing younger farmers to the industry by offering subsidies for the first two years they farm.
Jahkola would raise cattle, subsidy or not.
“I enjoy it and I’m proud of it,” she said. “That’s my thing.”
She is secretary of Finland’s Hereford Society and gathered information from Agribition to take back to her fellow breeders. She plans to write articles for a beef publication in Finland.
Jahkola said Finnish Hereford breeders are closely tied to Canadians.
“The genetic lines in Finland are based on Canadian genetics,” she said.