While the heat has accelerated the first crops, berry farmers in Häme and Lahti fear that the heat may damage or even destroy harvests of the cherished sweet berries later in July and August.
Janne Pihamaa of the Mansikka-Pihamaa farm in Asikkala said overall strawberry fields were in good condition after the winter, but that cultivation has many risk factors.
"The whole crop could be destroyed [by weather] even at the harvesting stage," he said.
In some areas drought has already begun to trouble the fields, according to Häme district fruit-and berry farmers' union’s Vesa Tuloisela.
"[The ideal weather for strawberry cultivation] is cloudy and dry, and 20 degrees centigrade," Tuloisela said. "If it gets hotter than that, it’s too much. And ideally, it should rain a bit at night, but not downpour," he said.
Given the current warm weather, also expected in the near future, a final crop yield forecast is not possible at this stage.