There’s always something new in the world of agriculture, and this week’s bulletin is brought to you by subscriber Allan Liggins of Coquitlam, B.C.
The intrepid Liggins has investigated a facet of farming heretofore untold in the Western Producer, and his work gives credence to suspicions that they do things differently out there on the left coast.
Though the story would have been more timely had it run on April 1 or at Easter, when the crop in question typically makes its appearance, let’s not forget there are a few different twilight zones, er, make that time zones, involved. Here is Liggins’ story.
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“Most farmers plant in the springtime and harvest in the autumn. The seasons are reversed for British Columbia daffodil farmers, who plant in the fall and harvest before Easter…
“The process begins with chainsaw-equipped men known as fallers, who bring the majestic beauties crashing to the ground with only a stump remaining. The fallers are considered to be the elite members of the daffodil workers….
“The felled daffodils are pushed together into bunches of 10 or 12, usually by a small bulldozer. The largest daffodil farms often leave a few of the tallest and sturdiest daffodils standing after the rest have been felled. These are known as ‘spar daffodils’ and are used to support aerial cables which allow daffodils to be gathered and bunched up by a winch….
“The bunches of daffodils are hitched to a tractor, by chain, for skidding from the daffodil grove to the loading site. …Today’s daffodil chokermen simply loop a chain around the bunch, sort of like a dally on a saddle horn, except it is one dilly of a dally.
“The photo (shown above) shows daffodil farmer Bill Owing, using a John Deere 4440 to skid a fine bunch of daffodils from his grove. We are unable to report the height … but it should be sufficient to note that they are tall enough to cast shadows on the sky.”
Liggins added the following postscript to his story: “The term ‘daffodil chokerman’ is the only occupational description with the suffix ‘man’ which remains politically correct at the start of the 21st century. This is because all females are far too intelligent to become involved in daffodil harvest drudgery. Each lady knows that, if she is patient, a man is sure to bring a bunch of daffodils to her.”
