NJF conference: Resolving Issues in Peatlands and Peat Use in Agriculture and Horticulture

11-12 June 2026, Seinäjoki, Finland

Peatlands and peat are important for Nordic-Baltic agriculture. Organic soils are common in cool, boreal climates, and cultivated commonly in countries such as Latvia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Nordic and Baltic countries produce and use peat as growing media in greenhouses, for heating energy generation and as bedding material in livestock farming. Peatlands, however, contribute to the greenhouse gas emissions of agriculture and energy systems and therefore the society is transitioning away from using peat and peatlands. To enable just transition, research to find economically viable low-emission land use, growing media and bedding material alternatives have been initiated.

NJF is organizing a conference that aims to share the latest information on issues and solutions related to peatlands and peat in agriculture and horticulture. The conference is targeted to researchers and experts of relevant companies and organizations. It will offer a possibility to meet and discuss about the challenges and solutions of phasing out peat in the Nordic-Baltic context.

The program will include two invited keynote talks and presentations that will be selected from abstracts submitted to the conference, and visit to a field pilot site near Seinäjoki.

Call for abstracts

The program will be composed of presentations made by the participants. We invite you to propose a presentation to the conference by submitting an abstract around one of the following topics

  • Alternatives to peat as bedding materials in animal production and growing media in greenhouses and horticulture
  • Rewetting peatlands, paludiculture
  • New insights on climate impacts of organic soils and their mitigation
  • Economic and policy issues
  • Just transition: How it can be implemented, what do farmers and other stakeholders think about it and what are the implications to agriculture?
  • Other topics related to the theme of the conference

Image by A L.G from Pixabay

How to submit an abstract?

Please submit your abstract as soon as possible and at the latest by the 22nd of May 2026 by using this form.

Abstracts can be proposed for oral presentations (15 minutes presentation plus 5 minutes for discussion) or for flash presentations (3 minutes (1-3 slides) presentation plus 2 minutes for questions).

The extended abstract can be up to 2000 characters and it should explain in brief: Motivation of the study, objectives, material and methods, results and conclusion. Abstracts must be prepared in English. 

Abstracts selection

Authors will be informed about the acceptance of their abstract within a week from their submission, and at the latest by May 25th.

Registration and fees

Participation fee of the conference is 100 euros per person. The fee includes lunches, coffee breaks, dinner, site visit and NJF’s membership for year 2026. Registered participants will be added to NJF’s member registry for year 2026.

Venue and schedule

The conference will be organized on June 11th (from 9 to 17) and June 12th (from 9 to 13). In addition, there will be a dinner in the evening of June 11th.

The workshop will be organized in Frami in Seinäjoki, Finland (Kampusranta 9, 60320 Seinäjoki, Finland). Frami is an active hub of universities, research institute, companies and other organizations operating in Seinäjoki and in South Ostrobothnia, the food province of Finland. Frami is located approximately 1 km from the Seinäjoki railway station.

Travelling to Seinäjoki

Seinäjoki is located approximately 350 kilometers North-West from Helsinki. Seinäjoki can be reached from Helsinki easily by train. During the daytime there is a train connection between Helsinki and Seinäjoki approximately once per hour. See https://www.vr.fi/en for timetables and tickets.

When travelling from abroad by plane, Helsinki-Vantaa airport (HEL) is the main airport of Finland. There is a train connection between Helsinki airport and Seinäjoki, with about 3 hours journey time.

As an alternative, the closest local airport is in Vaasa (VAA), which is located approximately 80 km from Seinäjoki. Vaasa airport has direct flights to Helsinki and Stockholm. There is a bus running between Vaasa airport and railway station, which is about 10 km from the airport. The train journey from Vaasa to Seinäjoki takes about 1 hour. There is also a ferry connection between Vaasa and Umeå, Sweden. https://www.wasaline.com/en/route-trips/

Accommodation

The following hotels are within 5-20 minutes walk (less than 1,5 km) from the venue:

Further information

Jarkko Niemi, President of NJF, jarkko.niemi@luke.fi