Arable farming

Arable farming: the basis of our diet

Cereals for people and animals

Cereals are the most important arable crops in Switzerland, accounting for an area of around 140,000 hectares. This corresponds to approximately the area of the canton of Lucerne. In the area of cereal cultivation, the agricultural sector differentiates between bread cereals for human consumption and fodder cereals for animals. The most important bread cereal types are wheat, spelt and rye. Farmers also plant wild emmer, einkorn wheat, millet, barley and buckwheat at a smaller scale. Livestock receive feed wheat, barley, oats, triticale or forage maize.

The sowing of cereals begins in autumn. Winter cereals require cold so that they can form grains the following year. Depending on the variety, it is possible to first sow wheat, barley and oats in spring. These cereals are referred to as summer cereals.

The harvest season begins at the end of June with barley. Wheat and triticale then follow at the end of July. The harvesting of rye, spelt, oats, wild emmer and einkorn wheat does not commence until August, while grain maize is left in the fields until October.

Switzerland is a land of potatoes

The potato is an important crop in the Swiss agricultural sector. It is grown on more than 10,000 hectares. Potato cultivation starts with the seed potatoes. In pre-germination bags, these seed potatoes develop small sprouts, thus becoming ready for planting. For this process, the farmers use planting tools, before piling up the dams that are characteristic of potato fields. While the potatoes would also thrive without them, they facilitate mechanical weed control and make harvesting with the potato harvester easier. Furthermore, the dams warm up more quickly in spring than flat ground and the risk of waterlogging is reduced. The harvest begins when the potato foliage dies. Planters influence the time at which this occurs by killing off the foliage prematurely either by mechanical or chemical means. The harvester digs out the potato tubers and transports them to the surface using a conveyor belt. Here, sorting is performed by hand to remove stones and damaged potatoes.

Sugar beet – autumn peak

Beet planters sow sugar beet between mid-March and mid-April. The cultivation area for this crop spans around 18,000 hectares. The beet harvest commences at the end of September, with harvesting machines being used for this process. The sugar beets are initially stored at the edge of the field on a temporary basis. Those who take autumn strolls along field paths will be familiar with the numerous beet piles of this kind found in cultivation areas. The use of the beet cleaner loader begins later. This machine cleans the coarsest soil from the sugar beet so that it can subsequently be transported to the sugar refinery.