Posted on 1/4/2023
Organisers of tractor runs and rallies here in Ireland will often have a theme to an event, which usually marks a significant anniversary or aims to raise funds for a deserving cause. There is, however, an annual rally in France which has taken both these objectives and built an event that is unique in Europe, and perhaps globally, which celebrates the legacy and development of the combine harvester.
Central France
If you were to take a map of France and place a pin right where you think the centre of the country lies then that is roughly where the rally is held, at the Museum of Agricultural Machinery and Rural Life, by the tiny village of Saint-Loup-des-Bois, in the Bourgogne region.
Although billed as having a general approach to the history of farming in France,...