Describing an agricultural landscape

The agricultural landscape in the picture is a land near Cognac, in Charente, France, in the Centre of Europe. This is a typical land that has been transformed by the farming activities in order to grow cereals and wine grapes.

As a plot, we can see one of large size and regular shape. It seems an open field, made up of regular plots without boundaries. This type is commonly found in the agricultural landscapes of Central Europe. In the picture the two plots are separated by a narrow path.

From the point of view of the farming system, we can see here a polyculture example, because the land is divided up into small plots and farmers grow two types of crops: cereals (wheat) in the upper plot and wine grapes in the lower one. Those crops are typical in French agriculture. All of the regions in France have local specialty produce: Cognac from Cognac, Goats cheese in Deux Sevre, mustard from Dijon to Pork from Brittany. This is in part due to the climate, which varies so much that it allows the production of many different food stuffs.

Grains are the most important agricultural commodity produced in France. Wheat, maize and barley are also among the top 10 major agricultural commodities. France is the fifth largest producer of wheat in the world, and a top producer and exporter in the EU. Large grain farms are mainly concentrated in Northern France.

On the other hand, wine is produced throughout France, and tops the list of most valuable agricultural export from France. This makes French wine the world’s sixth most valuable commodity exported. French wine and cognac are in demand worldwide.

The climate is warm and temperate in Cognac. This place has a significant amount of rainfall during the year. This is true even for the driest month. That´s why today farmers use irrigation systems only sometimes.

This is an example of extensive agriculture that requires the use of machinery, especially with the wheat.