Impressions of farming in Spain

Bob’s agricultural background means he sees things related to farming. Here’s a few of the things he noticed.



Be aware that my interpretations are only guesswork - I don't have the language or access to the people who'd be able to give authoritative explanations

Having now seen the top half of Spain close up for 1,000 km, I can say how surprised I am at how closely much of Spain corresponds to the various parts of Australia, especially the southern states. Climate and soils are similar, large, modern farm machinery is used, including some techniques that may not yet be part of Australian agricultural technology (e.g. innovative ways to handle hay and silage. On the other hand, there are some parts of the country where economies of scale have not been achieved. For instance, in the north-west corner of Spain a dairy herd might consist of only 12 – 25 cows, while I suspect that in Australia, herds of 120 to 250 are common.

Horticulture – the main crops we saw (these were in the early part of our walk) were almonds, pome fruits, cherries, peaches, olives and grapevines. I was surprised and impressed with the usage of modern tree trellising methods – or perhaps Spain has been leading the way all the time? I was also astonished that the bush vines are so small, so old, and grown in really stony, hostile places. I did not see much in the way of commercial vegetable growing, but the many home gardens are a delight. Potatoes, cabbages, brussel-sprouts, lettuces, onions, garlic, leeks etc etc abound! 

Cereal farming – huge areas of cereal crops. I was surprised at the large areas under cultivation in huge single fields, presumably by corporate owners. On the other hand, in some regions, quite small paddocks are kept under cultivation (as little as a half to one acre sometimes). These may be harvested as hay or silage. Where large areas are grown for grain, pigs are often kept in conjunction. In other regions, the grain (barley and wheat) are apparently used for human consumption. In many instances, sloped paddocks have been partly terraced, a seemingly unnecessary practice, but apparently required many years ago, perhaps to reduce the horsepower needed for cultivation. There are usually no fences, and crops are planted to within inches of the road verge. One farming practice that seems to be rather imprecise is the application of foliar nutrients. It seems inevitable that there is a distinct unevenness across the width of the boom-spray (as well as overlapping and missed strips), resulting in strips of darker and lighter green in almost every cereal paddock. Paddock boundaries seem to be marked, if at all, by large stones or short concrete markers. No fences.

Animals – on the small farms, cereal and pasture grasses seem to be used for silage or hay to feed sheep and cattle that are kept in sheds, even in fine sunny weather. We saw quite a few of these sheds, and sometimes our path took us very close to them, often right inside the village boundaries. Cattle may be kept in stalls, while sheep and goats are free to roam inside their sheds.

Where small-scale farming is practised, the animals are sometimes be taken out to their paddocks, perhaps with a bell on their necks. We saw this several times. They may also be allowed to browse the heath on the higher, unfenced mountains.

Weeds – the full range of pasture species and weeds found in southern Australia are also found here, introduced either deliberately or by mistake to Australia. The ‘good’ species include: subterranean clover, medic, vetch, rye grass, cocksfoot. Weeds include Salvation Jane, dandelion, fog grass, every kind of thistle, dock, barley grass, wild oats, furze bushes, blackberries, bracken, geranium. Today I saw a species that exists on infertile land of the Adelaide Hills, a species I haven’t seen since childhood – we called it ‘blowfly grass’ – because its head sort of resembles a blowfly.

Soils – these vary immensely, as one would expect across 1,000 km. In the high rainfall eastern parts, the grey soils seem to be straight from the Adelaide Hills. Other parts have very clayey lumpy clods.

Irrigation – has been practised for many decades, with water distributed in wide open concrete channels directly and indirectly from melting snow in the Pyrenees and from reservoirs. However much of the infrastructure is now abandoned and deteriorated. This includes mile after mile of open concrete channels at ground level, closed pipes underground, and aqueducts over low areas. This infrastructure once flood irrigated mile after mile of graded fields, each of several acres. In many places, spray or trickle irrigation is now used, while another location has been seriously affected by salinity and lies totally abandoned – land and concrete channels.

 

 

Nostalgia:

We left Barcelona (in the far right corner of Spain on the Mediterranean), in the early spring. It was some weeks before I saw the familiar subterranean clover and the many weeds listed above. Then, I was startled and pleased to see a flock a sheep coming down the road. The difference was that the farmer was leading the flock (with his dog working behind the mob), and that some of the sheep wore bells whose melodic tinkling evoked memories of children’s stories! I assume that the bells are useful for the owner to locate the flock when they are allowed to roam free in the highland heath country, and to help keep the flock together. This means the farmer and dogs would have to stay around and ‘tend’ them. In one town, we saw two shepherds in traditional cloaks, guiding and watching over the sheep as they grazed pasture paddocks adjacent to (unfenced) cereal crops. Several times, we saw a Marema sheep dog watching over the flock.

Just one or two sheds seemed to have goats inside, and it was not clear if they were for milk or meat. We saw sheep in sheds on several occasions, and spoke with one ‘simple’ shepherd who conversed with us in perfect English. I wonder how many Australian sheep farmers speak perfect Spanish!

The weeds brought back memories of my childhood in the Adelaide Hills – the prickles I’d have in my feet each summer from geranium and barley grass  the times I’ve sprayed or hoed each of the other weeds.

 

 

In addition to the modern technology used, there are reminders of a byegone era too. Many times I’ve seen really ‘old-time’ relics – wagon wheels, sickles etc kept as display artifacts. I've also seen classic inventions akin to the TEA 20 Ferguson tractor, or the sheaf knotter. One that I particularly liked is a four-five foot reciprocating mower that looks a bit like a horse-drawn mower of old, but in this case powered by a small engine. The operator sits above a third wheel. It’s a beautiful example of the technology of the nineteen fifties, and still partially in use (though most of those I’ve seen are quietly rusting). They are a step or two above the old Allen autoscythe. Farmers have produced amazing inventions!