Niittäminen

Niittäminen, or mowing, is the agricultural practice of cutting grasses and other forage plants to harvest hay or to manage vegetation in meadows and fields. In Finnish usage, niitto refers to the act of cutting forage, while niittäminen emphasizes the process itself. The practice provides fodder for livestock and helps maintain plant communities and soil structure.

The timing and method of niittäminen depend on climate, crop goals, and weather. It is typically performed in late spring and summer when vegetation has grown enough and conditions are dry enough for curing hay. After cutting, the material may be left to dry in the field to produce hay, with moisture reduced to roughly 15–20 percent before baling or storage. For silage, mowing is followed by rapid wilting and fermentation to preserve the forage.

Equipment ranges from traditional to modern. Historically, a scythe or sickle was used; today’s operations employ tractors with mounted or tow-behind mowers, sometimes followed by mower-conditioners that crush or bend stems to speed drying, then rakes and finally balers to form hay bales. In turf management and lawn care, mowing can also refer to regular grass maintenance, which prioritizes height control and appearance over forage production.

Environmental and management considerations are important in niittäminen. Mowing regimes affect biodiversity, soil moisture, and nutrient cycling. Regimes can be designed to support pollinators and ground-nesting birds by adjusting mowing height, timing, and leaving unmowed patches or refugia.

History of niittäminen spans from manual scything to mechanized haymaking, reflecting broader agricultural intensification and changes in land use during the 19th and 20th centuries.