The Agricultural Revolution 1750-1900 The Industrial Revolution would not have been possible without dramatic changes in farming methods.

What is a Revolution and how can you have a farming revolution? But what has that got to do with farming? A revolution is any fundamental change or reversal of conditions, a great and sometimes violent change or innovation Encourage brainstorm to produce definition before introducing this version. Discuss different types of revolution.

The Open-field System Cooperative plowing Conserved the quality of land Balanced distribution of good land Farmers were part of a “team” Gleaning The Open-field System: - England was divided into a number of fields which surrounded a village - 1/3 left fallow - further divided into rectangular sections called furlongs -Furlongs were divided into narrow 1 acre strips - Certain pasture and forest were set aside as common land

Disadvantages of the old system People have to walk over your strips to reach theirs Field left fallow Difficult to take advantage of new farming techniques No hedges or fences No proper drainage Show picture first and ask for ideas about what the problem might be. Introduce and explain – encourage note taking at this stage in brief bullet points Because land in different fields takes time to get to each field Animals can trample crops and spread disease

Enclosure Before AFTER Each landowner received a single piece of property No common lands

Large Land Owners (Benefited) Had the political strength to pass the enclosure law Owned large unified farms under this system Farming was more efficient Didn’t need consent of the village to experiment with new crop methods. Large Land Owners (Benefited)

Small Farmers Forced off Their Land Had to pay for : Required fencing A team of oxen Could no longer glean or gather wood Often had to sell plots to large landowners: Forced to Rent or Work for someone else Increasing the # of men looking for work Small Farmers Forced off Their Land

Improved Farming Tools & Methods Productivity of land and laborers increases. Crop Rotation – Fields no longer left fallow, but planted w/ crops like clover and turnips that replenished nutrients and were used to feed animals. Improved Farming Tools & Methods

More use of Fertilizer. (manure) New tools (seed drill, iron plow) Larger food supply – Population increased. Fewer farm workers needed.

The Seed Drill (1700) Planted seed in neat rows Improved germination by making furrow, dropping seed into them, and covering them Reduced amount of seed used in planting

Scientific Agriculture Crop Rotation English gentleman farmer Viscount Charles “Turnip” Townsend Alternating grain crops: wheat and barley, with soil enriching crops: turnips and clovers. No longer had to leave land fallow Scientific Breeding 1725-1795 Selective breeding of animals Produced more and better animals Produced more milk and meat In 1710 the average weight for cattle was 168 Kg by 1795 - it was 363 Kg (370pounds – 800 pounds) Leciestershire breed of sheep Increased weight of marketed cattle

Effects The number of farmers, in proportion to total population, decreased sharply Many farmers moved to the cities The population of cities increased rapidly Farmers found their work less difficult because machines performed the back breaking labor Farming changed from a self-sufficient way of life to big business Agricultural production increased Cost of foodstuffs dropped Increased production of food resulted in part, in a rapid growth of population Large farms, using machines and scientific methods, began to dominate agriculture Number of small farms began to decline