agrarian revolution

English agriculturist Jethro Tull invented the mechanized seed drill in about 1701. The sowing of seeds in uniform rows allowed weeding between the rows of seedlings during growth, so improving the yield. Previously seeds had been broadcast by hand across the land.

Until the 1960s historians believed that there had been an 18th-century revolution in agriculture, similar to the revolution that occurred in industry. They claimed that there had been sweeping changes, possibly in response to the increased demand for food from a rapidly expanding population. Major events included the enclosure of open fields; the development of improved breeds of livestock; the introduction of four-course crop rotation; and the use of new crops such as turnips as animal fodder.

Recent research, however, has shown that these changes were only part of a much larger, slower, ongoing process of development: many were in fact underway before 1750, and other breakthroughs, such as farm mechanization, did not become common until after 1945.

Causes of improvement

The main cause of change seems to have been the rapidly growing population (from around 6 million in 1700 to 11 million in 1801), particularly in the towns, which created an increased demand for food. This was particularly important during the Napoleonic Wars, since Napoleon's Continental System prevented all trade with Europe; Britain had to produce more food, or starve. Prices rose rapidly, increasing profitability and encouraging an expansion of production; the Corn Laws also played a part in this. Villages that had been happy to be merely self-sufficient now began to look to produce for the market – so the changes involved the adoption of a new capitalist business ethic by the farmers. Better transport also played a part, for it extended the hinterland of population areas, and allowed more farmers to produce for the market.

Enclosure was also crucially important. In 1700 about half the arable land of England was held in open-field strips. The open-field system had some advantages, mainly social, but limited production. Enclosure rationalized the system of land-holding, consolidated farmland, and gave farmers the opportunity to introduce the new methods. Agricultural propagandists such as Arthur Young and William Cobbett also helped the agrarian revolution, for they helped to create a climate of improvement.

To a degree, production was increased because of technical improvements – new crops, crop rotations, selective breeding, new buildings and drainage, the use of manure, and new implements. However, change was uneven from region to region, and even from farm to farm, and very gradual. The full technological revolution in farming did not occur until after World War II.

New crops

The introduction of new crops – such as potatoes, red clover, and turnips – into Britain in the 17th century improved farming practices, since farmers could use them to feed their livestock throughout the winter. This meant that is was no longer necessary for animals to be slaughtered in the autumn so that meat could be salted for storage through the winter. Also, clover returned certain nutrients to the soil, and the growing of turnips meant that the land was thoroughly weeded by hoeing.

Four-course rotation

The 18th century saw the replacement of the three-field system of wheat–barley–fallow by the four-course crop rotation system (wheat–turnips–barley–clover), which was designed to ensure that no land would need to lie fallow between periods of cultivation because if crops are rotated correctly they absorb different kinds and quantities of nutrients from the soil. The four-course rotation system was subsequently popularized by enlightened landowners such as Viscount ‘Turnip’ Townshend and Thomas Coke, who used it to produce greatly increased crop yields on his farmland in Norfolk, and encouraged other farmers and landowners to use the same method. Because both Coke and Townshend lived in Norfolk the system also became known as the ‘Norfolk System’.

Livestock farming

Other pioneers of the new farming methods that were developed in Britain in the latter part of the 18th century included the livestock farmer Robert Bakewell, who improved the quality of horned stock and sheep by means of selective breeding (purposefully mating strong and healthy animals). His work resulted in a great reduction in the age at which bullocks and sheep were ready for the butcher. Other successful breeders included the Colling brothers of County Durham (Durham Shorthorns) and George Culley of Northumberland (Border Leicester sheep).

Manure, fertilizers, and other improvements
The new methods allowed mixed farming, also known as ‘closed circuit farming’. Crops grown under the four-course rotation included fodder crops, which were fed to the animals, whose manure was spread on the land to produce better crops. Agricultural investment also included the extensive drainage of wetlands, and the construction of custom-built buildings, such as the foldyard (to collect the manure), cow byres, and milking sheds.

Agricultural machinery
The 18th century saw improvements in plough technology – for instance, the light Rotherham swing plough with a cast-iron share (1730), an efficient mouldboard (1771), and Robert Ransome's self-sharpening share (1801). In 1701 Jethro Tull invented the seed drill. This allowed a move away from broadcast sowing, which wasted seed, and, since the drill planted crops in regular rows, also allowed the gaps between the rows to be weeded by horse-hoeing. Also during the 18th century, farmers started to reap with a scythe, rather than a sickle, and introduced threshing and winnowing machines. However, the new techniques were introduced slowly in England; the last ox-plough team ceased work as recently as 1957, and broadcast sowing remained common until the 1950s.

Social results
The agrarian revolution undermined the communal, mutually-supportive way of village life, and replaced it with business farming. The combination of capitalist ethics, population growth, enclosure, and economic dislocation after the Napoleonic Wars created rural hardship which led to the Swing Riots in 1830.

US developments
Important changes in the agricultural methods of the period were also occurring in the USA with the invention of a number of harvesting and processing machines. The first of these was the mechanized cotton gin, which was patented by Eli Whitney in 1794, and significantly reduced the time needed to remove cotton seeds from cotton fibres. This was followed, in turn, by the first successful harvesting machine, which was patented by Cyrus McCormick in 1834; the first thresher, which was patented in the same year by the brothers John and Hiram Pitts; and the steel plough, which was invented by John Deere in 1837. The Pitts' thresher and McCormick's harvesting machine were also the basis of the modern combine harvester, which was only developed, however, in the late 19th century.