The agricultural cycle in the cereal steppe starts in the autumn with the preparation of the soil and the sowing of cereal. The cereal fields germinate in the winter and the cereal is ripe between May and June. The harvest takes place around this time, followed by the separation of the grain from the straw which is then collected in bales. The remains rooted on the ground of the fields are turned into haulm which may be used as pasture. If these fields are not subsequently cultivated, they become fallow land which serves as natural pasture for livestock.

The rotation regime between the dryland cereal farming and the existence of fallow lands provides for a good soil cover throughout the year, turning the landscape into a spatial and temporal mosaic of habitats which are essential to the survival of several animals, particularly birds.