A question for our farmers.

[scarey55]

We pass a field on the dog walk here that is always beautiful at this time of year with some sort of cereal crop - possibly corn with what look to me like salmon flowered peas and cornflowers, can anyone tell me why. It would be lovely to think they are doing it because it is pretty but, somehow, I don't think so. I'd be really interested to find out firstly, what the cereal crop is and, what the pea type things are. I think I can manage the cornflowers Click on the picture for a larger image.

Thank you, oh wonderful farmers

[Zelenina]

Yes cornflowers for sure. The others are a bit too small to be certain, but the "pea" plants look like some kind of vetch, which is in the pea family and probably just a wild plant or weed. Though vetches are sometimes sown as a green manure. The "cereal" looks to me more like the flowering heads of grass. Maybe a wild species of grass or maybe a specially sown domestic variety. Though it possibly is a cereal in a young stage e.g. wheat or rye or barley. Can you give us a closer up photo. Does it have long whiskers? The closer heads look like they don't, but some of the further ones maybe do.

So it's most probably a cornfield or hay meadow with some self-sown wild flowers or weeds mixed in, but it could be a deliberately sown wild-flower meadow, or just a piece of ground left idle for a while. Does it get mown at all? I should think it must, otherwise it would look much rougher and bushier than that. Or maybe it gets grazed by cattle or sheep at some times of year. I agree with you, it does look lovely.

[scarey55]

Thank you Zelinia, I think it gets mown every year and if it isn't a cereal, then I think're right, it must be for hay. I will try and see what the farmer does with it once it has been cut. I will take my camera this afternoon on the walk and try to get a better photo. Thanks again.

[marchogaeth]

Does it look like this every year? If so really not sure as it does look created rather than natural (but I don't know France that well). I think what you describe as corn is the flower head of a grass - I couldn't blow it up enough to attempt an identification and I can see one that really looks like some sort of wild wheat -, there is purple vetch, I think a red clover as well as the corn flowers. If it was UK, I'd guess at a sown ley/forage mix to be cut and left to rot down once or twice a year for a couple of years before ploughing in. This would be to restore fertility. In France though, it could be a species rich (probably) organic hay meadow. Can you go and ask?

[scarey55]

Thank you for that Marchogaeth It is like that every year (or, at least the last three years) There was red clover in the field opposite a couple of years ago so perhaps that has just migrated. Now I know that it is not cereal, it makes more sense to me and I am sure that you are right and it will be turned in.

I will get a better photo and hopefully you'll be able to have a better idea what it is.

I was afraid someone was going to suggest I ask I could probably manage the question but I'd most likely completely fail to understand the answer. I get by with my French but it isn't brilliant, I'm afraid. Perhaps I'll pluck up the courage one day and ask. He is a lovely farmer and I'm sure he won't laugh at my attempts... too much

[ESBkevin]

Almost certainly a sown crop for silage/hay with specific properties to fix nitrogen in the soil and feed cattle/horses. Farmers can ill afford to just casually allow a field to self set as a meadow. The mixture is selected to maximise cropping and help maintain the soil with minimal interaction with chemicals and machinery.

Looks pretty though.

[scarey55]

Thank you Kevin, I knew I could count on you lovely farmer types to help. I agree, it does look pretty