Euro-Bull is the country’s largest beef producer. No byproducts are generated here; instead, everything is used on-site. As manure prices rise, this results in significant savings.
Euro-Bull Oy is a Finnish agricultural company operating in the beef production sector. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Härkmeri, Kristiinankaupunki. The company is led by entrepreneurs Samuel Ingves and Marcus Teir, who have jointly built a modern facility for the finishing of bulls.
Euro-Bull’s barn can accommodate approximately 1,600 animals, but thanks to expansions and collaboration with the owners’ own farms—Ab Euro-Spirit Oy and Ingves Samuel Lantbruk—the total number of finishing spots is approximately 2,800. This makes the company one of Finland’s largest beef production facilities. And it’s an impressive sight that greets you when you step onto the farm.
Feed five times a day
– Here we have the animals. They arrive at six months old and weigh about 250 kilograms, and they are sent to slaughter at thirteen months old, weighing about 800 kilograms. They are fed five times a day, and their feed consists of a mixture of grass, flour, and potato peels, says Samuel Ingves.
Euro-Bull and the owners’ own farms employ about six full-time workers. During the season, the company can employ up to about 20 people.
Euro-Bull represents modern Finnish agricultural production, with a focus on efficient breeding, domestic meat production, animal welfare, and the development of farm operations. The company produces high-quality domestic beef for the Finnish market and supplies slaughter animals to HK-Foods. At the same time, Euro-Bull promotes the local economy and helps maintain the vitality of the Ostrobothnian countryside.
We meet one of the entrepreneurs, Samuel Ingves, at Euro-Bull’s impressive farm, located between Härkmeri and Skaftung.
– This is a way of life, and there’s basically work around the clock. But I guess that’s what being an entrepreneur is all about. “I never thought we’d have a farm like this when I attended agricultural school many years ago,” he says.
One million kilos of meat per year
The company produces about one million kilos of beef per year.
“The advantage of being this large is that we can take advantage of economies of scale. For example, when it comes to purchasing or other deals, we can put a little pressure on suppliers and get goods at a lower price, he says.
At the same time, the beef industry has been struggling with declining profitability for some time now.
– If we get one euro per kilo, it costs the customer five euros per kilo at the store. That’s a big problem, and I wonder where the difference goes. But at the same time, there’s a glimmer of hope right now. We’re now getting a little more from the beef, says Ingves.
Euro-Bull’s waste is dynamite for the fields
With 2,800 animals and 850 hectares of farmland, it’s easy to imagine that the operation generates some byproducts—or waste. But that’s not the case at all. Everything that can be used is recycled and reused. The circular economy at its best.
– Here, everything is circular economy; everything is used – and circulates again and again. Our biggest “waste” is manure, or dung, as we call it. To us, it’s not trash; it’s dynamite for the fields—that is, fertilizer. Since we spread everything back onto the fields, I estimate that we save about 150,000 euros by not having to buy as much synthetic fertilizer, says Ingves.
It’s all about the circular economy
To make spreading more efficient, we also use a process called separation, where solid and liquid manure are separated from each other. We don’t handle the separation ourselves; instead, we use an outside company for it.
– We’ve been doing separation for five or six years and have found that it works really well. In the separation process, we remove all the solid matter, which is then plowed into the fields. The liquid matter that remains in the pit is much easier to handle and spread on the fields, says Ingves.
It is also possible that the solid matter will be sold in the future.
“With manure prices rising, there is certainly a market for this. It could perhaps be packaged in smaller bags so that private individuals could also buy it,” says Samuel Ingves.
Author: Janne Smeds