THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION Decision time for Jacob Newmarch, a Lincolnshire farmer in the early 18th century

ABOUT JACOB NEWMARCH  He is 42 years old  He is married with four children  He is a tenant farmer with 60 acres divided into 4 fields of 15 acres  He farms in the same way his family have farmed for generations  He is ambitious. He wants a better life for his family

OLD-STYLE FARMING  Four-field crop rotation  Wheat, barley, oats and a field left fallow  Broadcast sowing  Open fields: (i)wind (i)wind (ii)roaming animals (ii)roaming animals (iii)distance between (iii)distance between fields fields

DESIRABLE ADVANCES (needs £400 profit yearly) Domestic servants (general cleaner, cook, nanny, gardener) Domestic servants (general cleaner, cook, nanny, gardener) Better transport (carriage, horses) Better transport (carriage, horses) More leisure time and less farm work More leisure time and less farm work (hunting, visiting local squires) (hunting, visiting local squires) House improvements (more rooms, better furniture, or house outside village) House improvements (more rooms, better furniture, or house outside village)

COSTSSALES Rent £60 Labour Men £46.50 Labour Women £24 Food for Workers £104 Land Tax £15 Ploughs £20 Horses £20 Wagons £10 Seed £30 TOTAL = ? ___________________ Wheat £1.90 per bushel x 180 = ? Barley Barley (worth.5 wheat) £0.95 per bushel x 180 = ? Oats (worth.33 wheat) £0.63 per bushel x 180 = ? TOTAL = ? PROFIT = ? ___________________ _ Jacob Newmarch’s Balance Sheet for 1725

Jacob Newmarch’s Balance Sheet for 1730 COSTS Same as in 1725 and the yield is still 12 bushels per acre SALESWheat £1.25 per bushel x 180 = ?? Barley £0.?? per bushel x 180 = ?? Oats INCOME = £???

SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS  Use of seed drill  Use of manure  Sow turnips in fallow field  Fence off land with wood and hedges  Use better ploughs

Jacob Newmarch’s New Balance Sheet Costs Sales Rent£6024 bushels per acre Labour£ acres x 24 = 360 Land Tax£15Wheat Seed drill£20£1.25 x 360 = Ploughs£20 Horses£20Barley Wagons£10£0.625 x 360 = Seed£30 Manure£65Oats Fencing, hedges£24£0.4 x 360 = Turnips seed£1.5Turnips = £56 TOTAL COSTS = TOTAL SALES = TOTAL COSTS = TOTAL SALES = PROFIT AFTER MAKING FARMING CHANGES =

REASONS FOR CHANGE  Wasted acres  Poor sowing method  Open fields  Falling prices  Poor soil  Ambition  ?

Results of Changes  Increased food production  Wealth creation: more jobs, more buying  Healthier nation; more living longer  More people available for non-farming work, could increase industry workers  Revived rural economy; better times for blacksmiths, millers  Changing landscape: hedges, fencing, farmhouses away from the village

Importance of the study of the Agricultural Revolution for today’s world  Helped Britain to become the world’s first major industrial nation  Wealth creation in one area leads to better employment prospects all round  Value of investment to reap a later reward  Value of encouraging invention, new ideas  Importance of spreading new ideas

WRITTEN WORK Using your completed worksheets and additional notes, answer the following questions either in the form of diagrams or writing; 1Why were there changes in farming in the eighteenth century? 2What were these changes? 3Why were they important?

HELP SHEET From the list below, tick the sentences which you think are reasons why the changes in agriculture were important: 1.More food was produced for people in towns. 2.There were more jobs on the land. 3.People were able to move to towns and work in the new factories. 4.Britain could be rich as a result. 5.The new machines killed people. 6.The changes in agriculture meant more people were born. 7.New ideas spread and changes were made across the country. 8.The changes showed that you could make a profit if you spent money to make your business better.