France in Focus

Working in this heat is no fun. The farmers round here set off early in the morning; it’s too hot in the afternoon, and in many regions there are restrictions in place due to the risk of fire. And then, right up until midnight, you can hear the rumble of heavy diesel engines in distant fields.

This morning, the last straw bales were collected from a field below us, a month earlier than usual.

Straw or Hay?
Looks like a hay field as there doesn't appear to be the usual rows of stubble associated with a grain crop.
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Around us the farmers have been working thro. the night hardly any movement during the day except for the transport of the bales.

Definitely hay, the modern art of wrapping round bales, not any sign of these easy to follow trails.

RobertArthur wrote: ↑Sat Jul 11, 2026 10:04 am Definitely hay, the modern art of wrapping round bales, not any sign of these easy to follow trails.

Quite possibly a second cut though lack of rain might have made that difficult.

Certainly doesn't look like the sort of field where it would be worth a combine working.

Sometime it rains straw. Many, many kilometers following a tractor and its load in the heart of the Morvan. Many curves, up and down, low-hanging branches from the trees on both sides. Just be patient and only overtake on a long straight stretch of road. When we stopped at Maquis Bernard a little later, we were overtaken in turn. With probably a bit less straw on board now....

For those who might not know the difference;
"Though they may look similar, hay and straw serve very different purposes. Hay is grown and harvested as animal feed, while straw is a by-product of grain crops used for mulch, bedding, and insulation."

..... and hay is made from grass which has been dried and woofled after cutting and straw comes from the stalks of wheat, barley or other grains.
If the cut grass is not completely dried before baling, heat can build up making it susceptible to catching fire.

Blaze wrote: ↑Sat Jul 11, 2026 11:42 am ..... and hay is made from grass which has been dried and woofled after cutting and straw comes from the stalks of wheat, barley or other grains.
If the cut grass is not completely dried before baling, heat can build up making it susceptible to catching fire.

"Woofled" lovely word.
Never heard it called that. Is it a local dialect word?
It's always been 'woofled' with a spinner/raker ie 'spun' when I was a farmers lad.
Reminds me of the time when we were hay making in our 2.5 Ha field & my pals machine packed up. Our neighbour was asked if he'd do the job before we baled it & got his gung ho old man to do it as he was busy.
Old man arrived, set up his machine & proceeded to spin the hay.
In doing so he caught the surrounding 'leccy fence which wrapped around the machine & ripped out hundreds of metres of tape & piquets before I could stop him.
Took ages to clear up the mess while old man just gave the obligatory umpteen Gallic Shrugs.