Adapting to Changing Climatic Conditions in Estonian Farms
During the 2024-2025 farming season in Estonia, unpredictable rainfall and persistently wet conditions have posed major challenges for both crops and soils. Excess moisture has led to soil compaction, reduced aeration, and increased susceptibility to plant pathogens, all of which undermine yields and soil health.
This marks the third consecutive difficult year for Estonian farmers affected by weather extremes. The impact has been so severe that Estonia’s Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture announced that the government had effectively declared an agricultural state of emergency in autumn 2025.
In the heart of Pärnumaa, Estonia, a group of passionate, solutions-focused farmers and researchers is responding to these challenges, with the ambition of creating a future where soil and crops thrive, despite the increasingly unpredictable climate. The threats they face are twofold: relentless rainfall that saturates fields and prolonged droughts that leave soils cracked and unworkable. Both extremes, intensified by climate change, make every season a balancing act between too much and too little water, and between soil fertility and degradation.
Precilience is working directly with farmers to co-create solutions for sustainable agriculture. This includes field research and understanding soil health and crop responses to various interventions.
Understanding Soil Health
Soil conditions and health determine which crops can grow well and how long productivity can be sustained.
Pathogens cause plant diseases that reduce yields and grain quality. Their occurrence is strongly influenced by weather, but agronomic practices can help plants resist infection.
Soil tillage: the physical preparation of soil through ploughing or loosening, which plays a vital role in managing these dynamics and creating favourable conditions for crops.
Field Research in Pärnumaa
A field study in Pärnumaa is comparing the effects of two different soil management practices:
Minimal tillage, where soil disturbance is kept to a minimum.
Conventional tillage (ploughing), where soil is turned over to bury crop residues.
Each approach has potential advantages under different weather conditions:
In rainy seasons, minimal tillage helps preserve soil structure and prevents waterlogging, limiting the spread of pathogens.
In dry seasons, ploughing can be beneficial by burying pathogen-carrying crop residues, though it may also form clods that stress young plants.
The field test in Pärnumaa covers 24 × 48 metre plots, all sown with winter wheat (‘Bright’). Researchers collect soil samples at four key crop growth stages to measure:
Moisture and temperature levels
Weed presence
Microbial activity (both beneficial and harmful organisms)
“MINIMEERITUD MULLAHARIMINE.” Translated from Estonian “MINIMISED TILLAGE.” Photo credit: Roosi Soosaar
“KÜNNIPÕHINE MULLAHARIMINE.” Translated from Estonian “CONVENTIONAL TILLAGE (ploughing).” Photo credit: Roosi Soosaar
Why It Matters
The lessons emerging from Pärnumaa — and across Estonia — highlight that adapting agricultural practices and embracing innovation are essential to safeguarding the land and ensuring stable food production in an era of climate uncertainty.
Results from this study will be published in the winter. To stay informed, sign up for the Precilience newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for updates on our work advancing climate adaptation in agriculture.
Authors: Roosi Soosaar, Liina Soonvald, Siva Raja Sekhar Reddy Jonnala, and Kaire Loit