Peat: Extraction
How a bog is drained, milled and vacuumed up
What this tab covers How it is mined, drilled or grown, and processed into a tradeable form: the main methods compared, their unit economics, by-products, and the companies that do this work globally and in India.Peat forms where waterlogged, acidic conditions slow the decay of mosses, sedges and reeds, building layers over thousands of years. Harvesting begins by draining the bog and stripping vegetation. The surface is then milled, left to dry in the sun and collected by vacuum harvesters, or cut in blocks. Sphagnum peat suits growing media; reed-sedge peat is darker and more decomposed. In the United States, reed-sedge peat made up about 94% of 2025 volume. Twenty-six companies harvested peat in 11 states, led by Florida, Maine and Michigan.
Peat is harvested from drained bogs, mainly in Finland, Canada, the Baltic states, Belarus, Russia, Sweden and Germany. Milled peat is the dominant method: thin layers are harrowed, sun-dried and collected. Block and sod cutting serves growers who want coarse structure and some fuel uses. Most horticultural peat is then blended with other materials. Producers increasingly add wood fibre, coir and compost and are testing sphagnum farming, because peat extraction emits CO2 and several governments want to phase it out.
Methods compared
| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milled peat harvesting | Main method in the leading producing countries; exact share not published | Country output 0.3-2.5 Mt a year (USGS 2025); world 17 Mt | n/a | n/a | US average unit value $23/t f.o.b. mine (2025, USGS) |
| Block and sod cutting | Not published | n/a | n/a | n/a | Higher than milled peat (indicative, basis: more handling) |
| Blended growing media with alternative constituents | Klasmann-Deilmann: alternatives rose from about 8% (2017) to 30% (2025) of its growing media | Klasmann-Deilmann produced about 3.66 million m3 of growing media in 2017 | n/a | n/a | Not available from the sources used |
| Sphagnum farming (paludiculture) | Small and experimental | n/a | n/a | n/a | Not available from the sources used |
How each method works
Milled peat harvestingOn drained fields, the top few centimetres are harrowed, left to dry in the sun, ridged and collected by tractor-drawn or vacuum harvesters. Several harvest cycles run each summer. Output for both horticulture and energy uses this method.
Low cost and large volumes; output swings with summer weather; drained fields emit 3-8 t CO2e per ha a year (Klasmann-Deilmann measurements 2015-17).
USGS MCS 2026; Klasmann-Deilmann (2018) Block and sod cuttingMachines cut peat blocks or sods that dry in the field, then are shredded into coarse fractions valued by growers, or burned as fuel sods.
Coarser structure for premium substrates; slower and costlier.
Klasmann-Deilmann (2018) Blended growing media with alternative constituentsProcessors mix peat with wood fibre, green compost, coir, bark and biochar. Klasmann-Deilmann used 1.15 million m3 of alternatives in 2025, 30% of its output, and targets 50% by 2030.
Lower carbon footprint (60.9 kg CO2e per m3 in 2025 vs 90.7 in 2013 at Klasmann-Deilmann); alternatives can be costlier or less consistent.
HortiDaily (2026) on Klasmann-Deilmann 2025 sustainability report; Klasmann-Deilmann (2018) Sphagnum farming (paludiculture)Sphagnum moss is grown on rewetted bogs and harvested every few years as a renewable peat substitute.
Keeps peatland wet and storing carbon; low yields so far.
HortiDaily (2026) Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.Who does it: global
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klasmann-Deilmann | Germany | peat extraction (Germany, Baltics) and growing media | 3.8 million m3 growing media (derived: 1.15 million m3 of alternatives = 30% of production) | 2025 | HortiDaily (2026) on the 2025 sustainability report |
| Neova (formerly Vapo) Volumes not available from the sources used. | Finland | peat for horticulture and energy; Kekkila-BVB growing media | not published | 2025 | company |
| Sun Gro Horticulture Private; volumes not published. | Canada/US | Canadian sphagnum peat and growing media | not published | 2025 | company |
| Premier Tech Private; volumes not published. | Canada | Canadian sphagnum peat and growing media | not published | 2025 | company |
| Belarus state peat enterprises | Belarus | peat fuel briquettes and exports | 0.0325 Mt/yr briquette capacity at new Krupki plant (expandable to 0.09 Mt) | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026 |
Who does it: India
India is not listed among peat producers (USGS 2025). Coir pith (coco peat) from coconut husk, which USGS lists as a competing material, is the main growing medium available locally.