Why are the French farmers burying their underwear in their fields?

TL;DR – Don’t judge.

In the northeastern part of Marne, France, the French farmers are getting ready to bury their underwear in their fields.

Sounds weird but nope, this isn’t a prank or a joke.

In fact, it is a challenge given by the French Chamber of Agriculture to the French farmers. This challenge, titled En terre ton slip (which translates to “Bury your underwear”), has a very serious and meaningful purpose to it.

During the period from 27 May to 2 June, farmers are encouraged to bury their cotton undies in their fields, and then dig them up three months (between 19 August and 25 August) later, to see how much they have decomposed over time.

In another words, this seemingly strange behaviour is to test the biological activity of the soil. The more disintegrated the undies have become, the better it is. Because the healthier the soil is, more worms, fungi and bacteria will be present in the soil to attack the briefs.

Ironically, this isn’t the first time farmers have buried their boxers.

In 2018, the same project took place in Var, France where 210 undies were buried.

This idea was originated from the “Soil Your Undies” campaign launched by the Soil Conservation Council of Canada in 2017. The campaign was launched in a bid to raise awareness about the importance of soil health, that soils are living, breathing entities and they need protection too.