Cropping systems

Cropping systems are the different types of spatial and temporal organisation that can be applied to the individual or collective exploitation of a land area. Agricultural historians distinguish between systems where cultivation is continuous (open land, with or without fallow) and those where it alternates with other modes of exploitation (meadows, pastures, forest) or with no exploitation at all, leaving the land uncultivated. The choice of a system and the transformations it undergoes depend on various factors: altitude, topographical features, climate, intensity of seigneurial pressure, evolution of the habitat, demography and economy.
This article focuses on the cultivation systems of the Middle Ages and modern times, because in these periods the exploitation of the soil was closely linked to the seigniorial and social organisation and its study is therefore part of a wider framework than just agrarian history. For earlier periods, please refer to the articles on agriculture, Neolithic, Bronze Age and villa.

Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages

Author: Dominik Sauerländer Translation: Pierre-G. Martin

For Switzerland in the early Middle Ages, the knowledge of farming systems is only very incomplete. Isolated information shows a picture that is still not very differentiated, marked by the mixed economy. The regulation of the land seigniorage of the abbeys is beginning to be seen in documents.
In the Alemannic regions of the Plateau, livestock farming seems to have been predominant until the 8th century, but it alternated with ploughing, either in a system of crop rotation (alternating between grassland and cereals) or in a system of slash-and-burn cultivation (on newly cleared land). The archives of the Abbey of St. Gallen provide detailed information on the economic and seigniorial organisation in the 8th to 10th centuries: agriculture was practised within the framework of the land tenure system, which distinguished between the seigniorial reserve and the manses. The fields in the reserve were farmed according to the three-year rotation system, first mentioned in 763, but outside the landed lordships, grassland and cereals alternated freely and irregularly. This was also the case in the Alps and the Pre-Alps, where there was little land seigneury. Some early forms of farming in central Switzerland can be found in later sources, which speak of mountain dwellers living in areas at high altitudes that were independent of the valley floor. These people may have initially practised a sylvopastoral nomadism, which later gave way to the rotation of cultivation as observed in the 13th century. These two systems could also have coexisted, according to different regional modalities. For the early Middle Ages, the possibility of fluctuating and unstructured use of the highlands in central Switzerland must therefore be assumed. In contrast, in Graubünden, land clearing under the direction of the lords was more frequent. As the testament of Tello (765) attests, the reclaimed land was used in the same way as on the Plateau. The mixed economy was also practised here, but it is not clear whether the fields were permanently cultivated or not. Nevertheless, the will of Tello mentions small plots of land, indicating intensive farming. The clearing of land in the high mountains was intended to provide pasture. In southern Graubünden and Ticino, a mixed system of farming with permanent or biennial fields is attested in the 13th century and probably dates back to the early Middle Ages. In the Jura, abbeys cleared land (barns) in areas that were still deserted, which probably did not differ much from those of the Central Plateau in terms of their farming system.

Central Middle Ages

Author: Dominik Sauerländer Translation: Pierre-G. Martin

Strong population growth led to more intensive farming between the 11th and 14th centuries. In the wheat-growing areas of the Central Plateau, systems of rotation, particularly the three-year crop rotation, were developed by the farming community and were linked to the increased settlement of the area and the formation of villages. From then on, the essential framework for the organisation of the farm was no longer the seigneurial domain, but the village community, which was formed by the union of several farms and hamlets; the cultivation systems applied in the grouped elements (some of which were still based on the grass/cereal rotation, others already on the crop rotation) gave way to a new organisation based on large units called soles, pies or fins. Each sole was cultivated in a uniform manner. The old plots and elongated strips generally remained, but as subdivisions of the soles. The result of this process was a clear separation between the ager on the one hand (cultivated space near the settlement) and the saltus on the other (peripheral space with pastures, clearings, communal property). The settlement was concentrated in a fenced area where the gardens (hortus) were also located. The lords increasingly gave up their own use of the reserve by means of corvée and were content to receive the land rent; their influence on the agrarian structure therefore diminished considerably. In addition to the dominant three-year rotation, the canton of Fribourg also had temporary ploughing, permanent fields without fallow and, especially in the south of the canton, two-year rotation.
In the hilly areas of the Plateau and in the Pre-Alps, the formation of villages and soles did not take place or was only sketched out. Instead, a scattered settlement was maintained, with each farm having its own cultivation system. It was not until the Middle Ages that the difference between the regions of scattered farms and hamlets and those of the Plateau with grouped villages became apparent. In these higher areas, the systems applied evolved towards a regulated alternation of crops, but did not go so far as to create soles. Livestock breeding and pastoral activities remained important and the result was a landscape with a mosaic of fields and grasslands.

In the Alpine regions of central Switzerland, a flexible system of alternating grassland and cereals was established both in the valley bottoms and at higher altitudes. The ager, i.e. the land near the settlements, which was intensively farmed, included not only ploughed fields, but also meadows and private pastures. The fields were normally left fallow every second or, more rarely, every third year. Crop rotation systems with fallow land subject to grazing are attested as early as the 11th century in the wider valleys. The saltus, further away from the settlements, included meadows and forests, dedicated to extensive grazing. The regional differences were quite marked. Grassland and cereals predominated on the northern flank of the Alps, especially in Graubünden and central Switzerland, while cereals were grown south of Graubünden, in Ticino and in Valais. In the Lower Valais, biennial rotation with fallow land was practised, more rarely permanent farming. But everywhere in the Alps and Pre-Alps, livestock farming played an essential role in the mixed farming economy (usually with transhumance between different grazing sites).

The colonisation of the high valleys of the Jura and their vast forests only took off in the Middle Ages. Secular and ecclesiastical lords initiated methodical land clearing. The most common system was the alternation of grassland and cereals. The ager consisted of large parallel strips of individually farmed land, extending between the farms and the edge of the valley; beyond this was the saltus for grazing. The existence of soles is sometimes attested, but it is not known when they were created.

Late Middle Ages

Author: Dominik Sauerländer Translation: Pierre-G. Martin

The plague epidemics and the deterioration of the climate in the late Middle Ages led to a marked decrease in the population, especially in the cereal-growing areas of the Central Plateau (Late Middle Ages Crisis). The strong expansion of the cultivated areas during the Middle Ages was followed by a period of decline; many plots on the edges of the ager were no longer intensively cultivated and were reduced to the role of a transition to the saltus. As early as 1438, the Council of Lucerne repeatedly ordered its subjects to continue cultivating the soles and not to turn them into enclosed meadows (Enclosures). The decline in population in the Plateau led to an increase in the average size of the estates. The farmers turned to more extensive farming with lower yields, but still within the framework of the compulsory crop rotation, which did not undergo any fundamental change. This led to an increase in livestock and pasture farming on the arable land of the Plateau and even more so in the regions that did not have a rotation system (hills, Pre-Alps), favoured by the evolution of demand from towns, large and small. In the Gruyère Pre-Alps, enclosed hay meadows are attested to in the 14th century. In this context, wine production was developed as an additional product for the market, often on the initiative of landowners who strongly encouraged viticulture in suitable locations.

In central Switzerland and north of Graubünden, the alpine economy developed at the expense of crop rotation. In the highlands, the fluctuating forms of farming (alternating grass and grain, grazing) gave way to an alpine economy, often organised collectively by groups of farmers established at the bottom of the valley. Mountain and valley were thus linked. In the valley, after the redemption of the seigniorial rights and the rise to power of peasant leadership groups, the alternation of grass and grain continued, but with increasing emphasis on hay production. With some exceptions (e.g. Schwyz), cereal farming was not completely abandoned.

In the northern valleys of the Ticino, livestock rearing was also introduced. In the central Alps, on the other hand, livestock production increased, but this did not affect the mixed economy and the permanent fields. In the wheat-growing areas of southern Ticino, there was no compulsory rotation or fallow land, and the fields were cultivated intensively and continuously. The dominant form of organisation was the mezzadria, a kind of sharecropping. On the slopes of the Ticino, vines played an important role, as in the favourable sites of the Valais. In the cleared areas of the Jura, livestock farming progressed, but did not lead to the disappearance of the traditional system of regular crop rotation (regulated alternation between grassland and cereals).

In the high valleys of the Jura, a second wave of land clearing was carried out on the initiative of the farmers between the 14th and 17th centuries, which led to an extension of cultivation in wide parallel strips.

Modern and contemporary times
Modern period

Author: Albert Schnyder Translation: Pierre-G. Martin

The 16th-17th century cannot be described as a time of new farming systems, but important changes can be observed. The strong population growth led not only to an expansion of the cultivated area through land clearance (especially in the 16th century), but also to land improvement works. However, if the creation of new fields was not accompanied by an increase in grassland, the lack of manure (fertiliser) could lead to a drop in grain yields, as was the case in some areas of the Plateau in the last third of the 16th century, a period which also suffered from an unfavourable climate. On the southern margins of the Plateau, where the less fragmented estates allowed for more flexibility, an effective strategy was developed: part of the soils were transformed into enclosed meadows where grass and grain were alternated. This intensive variant of crop rotation made it possible to stimulate both cereal and livestock production. In order to increase hay production, the meadows were permanently enclosed and thus no longer subject to grazing (previously practised in the same way as on the soles), which made it possible to harvest two crops (hay and regain). In 1591, the Council of Berne required its Waldensian subjects to fence off their meadows, but this was only relatively successful, as the order was repeated in 1717. In the vicinity of Chur, part of the communal land was privatised around 1600 and grazing on the soles was abolished. In many villages, the area devoted to horticulture (vegetable gardens, industrial plants) and orchards (where, in addition to fruit, grass was also harvested) increased sharply, at the expense of the communal areas, but also of the soles; a “niche agriculture” was practised, which was important for the poor farmers. New kinds of vegetables were introduced (tomatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, bush and climbing beans). Tree cultivation was improved.

The demographic pressure led to the widespread cultivation of temporary crops on the communal land, which had already been established in the early Middle Ages. In many places, each commune owner had the right to clear a plot of land on the communal land and cultivate it for three years or more. Afterwards, the cleared land was to be returned to pasture for a long period and the same process repeated elsewhere. These plots (called novales in the sources, all. Rütenen or Neubrüche), worked with a pickaxe or a spade and not smoked, had only a modest yield. Sometimes attempts were made to improve them by burning them down. Where these temporary crops occupied large areas, the communal fields became part of a dual system in which they formed the extensively farmed part, while the arable fields and meadows near the village were intensively farmed.

The geographical distribution of the different farming systems is reflected in the so-called agrarian zones; these landscapes, defined by the dominance of one form of land use and one type of production, were formed in the Middle Ages. In modern times, significant changes took place in the transition area between the Kornland (“wheat country”) and the rotational farming areas. The individual farmsteads became more and more detached from the village community; they fenced off their fields and meadows and shared out the communal areas; this phenomenon was particularly evident in the Emmental and Entlebuch. This gave rise to a characteristic system (Egartenwirtschaft) of individual farming, alternating grassland and more or less intensive cereal cultivation on a single piece of land. In general, it should be noted that the use of the concept of agrarian zones does not obviate the need for a precise study of farming methods. In a given place, the farming system could differ significantly from the usual practices of the surrounding area. There was a time when historians, especially in German-speaking countries, tended to conclude prematurely, on the basis of a few clues, that the classic three-year crop rotation existed, while neglecting other forms of crop rotation. In addition, one should not forget the neighbouring regions, which, especially in Latin Switzerland, do not belong to any of the major agrarian zones. Until the 18th century, the area around Geneva was a bocage country, with square plots of land surrounded by hedges, quite different from the strips of assolated land. In view of the demand for white bread in the city, the dominant system was the cultivation of wheat, in a two-year rotation. Vines were cultivated in hutins (or “hautains”), i.e. the shoots were hung on trees at the edge of the grain fields. In the second half of the 17th century, maize was introduced in the southern part of Ticino and soon played an important role in the peasant diet.

From the first agricultural modernisation to the 21st century

Author: Albert Schnyder Translation: Pierre-G. Martin

The process of agricultural modernisation that began shortly after the middle of the 18th century (Agricultural Revolution) brought about a profound change in farming systems. In the Kornland, the three-year rotation was replaced by the improved three-year rotation, in which the fallow land was no longer used for grazing, but was sown with plants that enriched the soil with nitrogen, such as clover, esparto grass, alfalfa or vetch (fodder crops), which were used to feed the cattle, which were now kept in the stables all year round. Irrigated meadows lost the pre-eminence they had held for centuries among grasslands (Irrigation), because they could only produce hay and not green fodder. The communal areas were privatised, which generally caused serious conflicts of interest between rich and poor villagers, and turned into fields and meadows. The potato was probably first introduced in the Pre-Alps (it is mentioned in the Entlebuch as early as 1709) and then in the Plateau after 1750. Its yield per hectare was twice that of cereals and it therefore became the staple food for small farmers with little land. The appearance of new crops meant new cycles. On sown plots, the three-year rotation (winter wheat – summer wheat – fallow) gave way to various forms of continuous rotation, cereal – weeds such as potato – clover or cereal 1 – cereal 2 – weeds/clover; on those dedicated to fodder crops, there was clover – weeds – oilseeds – cereal or clover 1 – clover 2 – weeds – cereal. The definitive transition to continuous cropping meant the abolition of feudal royalties and the disappearance of grazing on harvested fields, fallow land and communal land. The system of alternating crops was no longer collectively decided and imposed on the entire village territory, but rather was organised on an individual basis, with each farmer choosing what he wanted to cultivate and at what rate. Cereals, weeds or fodder could be grown on any field, provided the microclimatic conditions and the nature of the soil allowed it. Alternation on one or more plots was a matter of individual decisions, based on the farming programme, yield, soil quality, etc. Soils, as units of cultivation, disappeared from the landscape. The distinction between fields and meadows, which had been clear and obvious in the arable land before agricultural modernisation, disappeared and a changing mosaic of smaller plots of land appeared instead of large areas, each with a uniform appearance to the eye.

In the second half of the 19th century, cereal growing declined in favour of livestock and dairy production due to competition from imported grain. The share of fodder crops increased proportionally. By the 1920s, the improved three-year rotation (with clover production in only one of the six years) had given way in the Central Plateau (except in a few communities in the north-east) to alternating clover and grassland, with three years of clover in six, and in the well-watered areas of the Pre-Alps and the northern Alps to pure grassland. Since the beginning of the 20th century, and even more so after 1950, the agricultural policy of the Swiss Confederation has contributed to the establishment of the main land use patterns. In the 20th century, rotations were often based on fodder crops (maize, barley, grass, weeds, rape), cereals (especially wheat and rye) and potatoes. In order to promote biodiversity, fallow land (flower fallow, rotational fallow) was reintroduced at the turn of the 21st century in intensively cultivated areas (ecological compensation areas).

Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch