After several weeks of dry weather the farmers in Brittany are starting to gather in their crops of Wheat & Barley. In the UK it is not unusual for individual farmers to invest in a combine harvester but in rural Brittany farmers diversify so much that investing in one piece of specialist equipment is not viable. They prefer to either make such a purchase within a commune or more commonly use contractors who rent the equipment by the hour and often with the driver.
The process is conducted like a military exercise with all the neighbouring farmers gathering with
their large trailers to take the crop to the nearest discharge point which is usually a commercial warehouse where it is weighed and checked before onward transmission to large regional silos. Unlike the UK the farmers in France do not store their produce it is sold immediately it is harvested to the nearest commercial reception point.
It is at harvest time that you take your life in your hands if you want to use the country lanes as the whole area becomes a race track for enormous tractors, trailers and worst of all the combine harvesters moving from one location to another. To the uninitiated meeting a small white van with its headlights on coming around the corner of a country lane would not cause alarm, but you soon learn that it is closely followed by an enormous combine harvester that is quite happy to see you vanish into the hedgerow.
Timing is essential when bringing in the crops of wheat or barley as it needs to be mature and most importantly dry and free from mildew so the farmers have to time the collection precisely. A delay or bad weather can mean the difference between profit or loss hence the flurry of activity towards the end of July.
We have a Gite which is usually fully occupied during harvest time and the guests enjoy watching all the activity taking place around them. We try hard to emphasise the importance of keeping doors closed during the harvest days to stop the influx of field mice looking for a new home but it is inevitable that the following week is spent clearing out unwanted guests. Its amazing how much horror and alarm can be caused by one small creature checking out its new surroundings.
After the harvester comes the bailing of the waste into huge drums ready for winter feed. I have to say I am a bit of a romantic and the drums of straw are not as picturesque as the traditional sheaves dotted around the landscape, Turner would have been horrified!
After the harvest the French farmers are very safety conscious and never burn the stubble it is ploughed in and the soil fertilized organically with manure that has been maturing for some time. This is one time it is a real benefit to be friends with your neighbouring farmer, Ours always ploughs in the manure near the house first to reduce the impact, what a nice man.
what an interesting and informative post! ... when I get the time I must read through your archives :)
Posted by: pip | Saturday, July 24, 2010 at 12:12 PM