Harvest Season 2025 – Summary and Thanks

November has begun with mild and rainy weather, and the final tasks of the season – wrapping up and clearing out – are now underway. What a long buying season it turned out to be this year!
The last purchasing day at many of our buying stations was Sunday, October 12, 2025. It was a good moment to close the season – everyone was feeling the weariness by then: staff, owners, and pickers alike.

After three difficult seasons, we can finally say that this year we were once again able to experience a proper, abundant harvest and product collection. What a relief for us as a company – and what joy for the pickers!
The best kind of seasons are those filled with energy, abundance, and that familiar rush of activity – they remind us why we do this work. When nature and the forests offer their best, it’s easier to keep our own motivation and energy alive.

Each year, it is a huge effort to set up our entire purchasing organisation again for the season’s challenges – never knowing exactly what to expect. But the 2025 season brought us many things to be happy about!

A Look Back at the Season

Let’s take a moment to reflect on the past season – the joys, successes, and challenges alike.
Overall, many wild products were later than usual this year. Cloudberry purchasing in the North started exceptionally late, not until the end of July. After several strong years, the cloudberry crop was very small this time.

However, we managed to maintain high quality and strong sales, which fortunately balanced some of the costs of organising northern purchases. Still, better cloudberry goals will have to wait for future seasons.
It’s worth noting that the purchase price for cloudberries was exceptionally high this year.

One of the clear highlights of the 2025 season was the bilberry. There were abundant berries in the forests, of excellent quality, and they lasted well into autumn. Dalla Valle Oy reached record levels in bilberry collection this year.
The picker price for bilberries kept rising throughout the season, and it was a pleasure to be able to offer good earnings to pickers. Many berry pickers made excellent daily incomes through their hard work.

The lingonberry prices were also record-high, although the total crop in Eastern Finland was smaller than usual. Lingonberries ripened slowly and remained small in size, and finding good picking areas required some searching.
Still, the higher prices clearly encouraged more pickers to head out – many continued collecting well into the season.

We also managed to purchase a good quantity of cranberries this year. Currants have now clearly established themselves as part of our purchasing operations, and their volumes are growing – the berries were exceptionally large this season.

Porcini – Our Main Product

Our main product, the porcini mushroom, brought us many reasons to smile this year.
The biggest relief was that porcini rose well in our main purchasing area – North Karelia.
What made this season so special was the outstanding quality of the porcini. Such top quality is rare.

Good quality makes everything easier: picking, purchasing, handling, and of course, selling. One of the main risks with porcini is always its variable quality, which can shift even within the same flush.
This year, however, the conditions were just right – the quality was exceptionally good.

Also, the porcini situation elsewhere in Europe happened to be favourable for us for once.
Even though the overall volume didn’t reach record levels, we achieved normal quantities, and after several weak seasons, that already felt like a victory.

We were also happy for the pickers – it’s such a joy to finally collect porcini again, and of good quality too!
Even we found a moment to visit the forests and inspire the next generation of pickers.

Unfortunately, we completely missed the beautiful pine porcini from Rokua in Vaala this year, as we couldn’t open purchasing there. In Satakunta we tried, but porcini simply didn’t rise.

Other Mushrooms

For other mushroom species, the collected quantities remained clearly below normal.
Russulas were very scarce, even though demand was strong. Unfortunately, rains did not coincide with the ideal conditions for russula growth.
Craterellus (trumpet chanterelles) appeared later than usual; even though our buying season extended into October, their growth had only just begun.

Chanterelles were abundant in Southern Finland but sparse in the East. They appeared late in our region and in modest quantities.
We also collected very little cauliflower fungus (typäskääpä), although sheep polypore (lampaankääpä) was plentiful in the forests. We’ll keep searching for customers for these mushrooms in future years.

In Summary

From the 2025 season, we will especially remember the return of normal porcini quantities and their exceptional quality; the abundance of bilberries; and the record-high picking prices for bilberries and lingonberries.

We’re also deeply grateful for the positive energy within our staff – their endurance and commitment throughout the season were admirable.
Encounters with pickers are always among the most memorable parts of each season, and this year was no exception.

Many of our long-term partners made cooperation smooth and efficient, thanks to shared experience and understanding of the products and the unique challenges of the season.
We also found new partners this year, with whom we look forward to future collaborations.

Our Sincere Thanks

We wish to express our heartfelt thanks to all the mushroom and berry pickers.
Your dedication and hard work are truly admirable, and it’s for you that we do this – to serve you in the best way possible. Finland’s forests offer incredible natural treasures to gather and enjoy.

Special thanks also to our staff – without you, the season would not be possible.
Your motivation and willingness to be part of the team inspired us every day.
Many of you got to experience the famous “porcini rush” for the first time this year!

Thanks as well to our partners and customers. Our customer base grew and evolved this year, and we are excited to see what new directions the future will bring.

The annual lottery was also completed in October, and this year the winner was found quickly – luck smiled on a picker from Joensuu! You can read the lottery news [here].

Thank you, thank you, thank you – a thousand times!
We officially mark the 2025 harvest season as completed – the warehouses are empty.
There is plenty to develop once again, and our thoughts are already turning toward next year.

Now, time for a well-earned rest. Let’s take care of our health and strength – see you again next season.

With best regards,
The Dalla Valle Team