The fields are almost marshy in the Landes at the end of November. The fault lies with capricious weather which dumped more rainfall than normal on the department.
The Poulit farm, located in the commune of Ygos-Saint-Saturnin, is no exception to this phenomenon. The plots, owned by Francis Lafourcade, almost resemble rice fields. One of the reasons for the “non-harvest” of corn. “We were late this year with this weather, which did not spare us,” says the owner of the place. We managed to pass the machine, but the humidity level is too high. »
In this first plot, approximately 1 hectare was not harvested. It is reserved for a rather special workshop: picking corn by hand. An initiative launched by the Landes Association for the Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture (Alpad). “This is the third time that we have implemented this type of action since 2020,” underlines Antoine Parizot, its facilitator. The previous meeting took place in Saint-Lon-les-Mines.
A moment of sharing around a manual harvest of a plot of old corn.
Matthieu Sartre
Old variety
For the farmer, this initiative is “important, in order to recover peasant seed”. “These are old varieties of corn and are becoming increasingly rare,” adds his son. This action is part of a “species safeguarding perspective”. This also allows “replanting this non-hybrid corn the following year”.
About fifteen people gathered to collect these ears. Farmers involved in this harvesting movement or people passionate about sustainable agriculture shared this moment. Boots essential to avoid sinking into the wetlands and bucket in hand, they set off to conquer the corn. A little further on, a skip attached to a tractor awaits the precious seed. A multi-colored picture is formed. “This is the particularity of this corn. It is colorful. Red, orange, white, yellow,” says the Landes operator.
Matthieu Sartre
Once harvested, the corn will be dried to lose moisture before being transformed into flour
This initiative must serve “to prove that by coming together, it is possible to do things”. A leitmotif in which the Alpad wants to be part. “We maintain peasant traditions and fight against the five multinationals which own 95% of the world's seeds. Living things and biodiversity are also our responsibility,” says the leader of the association.
For a few weeks, these ears will be dried. They had humidity “twice higher than normal” at harvest. “Then we will transform them into flour at the Bénesse-lès-Dax windmill,” he concludes.
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