Harvesting and threshing were the two most important moments of the entire agricultural year’s work. It was the moment when the fruits of the fields were harvested, the wheat was separated from the straw, and the seeds were set aside for the following year. Using grabbing sickles, pitchforks and billhooks, the men cut the wheat and gathered the ears into bundles. The women and boys took care of the gleaning work, i.e. the collection of ears left in the field, the women also bringing lunch to the men working in the fields. The threshing was done either by a steam powered machine or with a connection to a tractor using a driving belt. This process separated the grains from the ears by threshing and collected them in bags, while the straw was collected in bales or placed in sheaves. The grains were then taken to the granaries to be sold and to the mill to be ground into flour.
