According to the Association of Rural Advisory Centres, no significant damage to new plantings has been reported yet after several sub-zero nights throughout the country.
However some grains planted last autumn, which were already weakened by dry, windy conditions early in the spring, have suffered from the night frosts.
The association's latest survey indicates that the arrival of spring is still a few days ahead of the average schedule, but that a thin layer of frozen ground still covers most fields in central areas such as Ostrobothnia and Kainuu. In northern Finland most fields are still covered by ground frost.
Fruit and berry farms have not reported any winter damage as trees and bushes begin to bud. However orchards and patches that were not watered last summer show signs of the extended drought.
Early potato plants in south-western Finland and the Archipelago are already 10-15 centimetres high. Farmers are now planting potatoes as far north as Ostrobothnia.