British Agricultural Revolution - Farm Life in The 15th To 18th Century

Farm Life in The 15th To 18th Century

The about 77,800,000 acres (about 31,480,000 hectares) of land in Britain pre-1922 varied considerably in arability. England had about 30% arable land with Wales, Scotland and Ireland favoring raising livestock and dairy farming with only about 3%, 7% and 15% arable land respectively. Nearly all of Britain is less than 75 miles (121 km) from the ocean and many communities have close ties to fishing and trade. Nearly all farmers kept livestock as well as growing crops on arable land for their own food and a small extra amount to trade with the towns people for goods they couldn't or didn't have time to make. The livestock were almost a necessity as they could eat pasture during the day and spread some of their manure over arable or fallow land during the night if a crop was not planted there yet. During the winter when they were fed and housed their manure built up around the stock pens and was usually hauled out in the spring and spread on the grain fields before they were plowed. To help keep the land productive manure or other plant matter had to be spread on the soil by the livestock or the farmer regularly to maintain the plant nutrient levels needed to grow wheat, oats, rye, barley, etc. Barley was grown primarily to be brewed into beer, but it was also eaten, usually in dish called "pottage". The water in this time period (before germs were known or water treatment plants) was so unsafe that beer was a very common beverage drunk by nearly all—children included. Oats, rye and wheat were primarily used in cereals and breads, but these grains were also used in pottage (this staple dish for the poor also included seasonal vegetables and could include pulses and bits of meat). The productivity of the farms gradually increased as a larger fraction moving to the cities left fewer farmers to grow more and larger crops.

Nearly all farm and village families kept gardens that grew a wide variety of vegetables that were used when they had ripened or grown large enough. Nearly all farmers kept pigs, which could often scrounge most of their own food or eat milk left over from making cheese, scraps or slop, and were fattened on acorns in autumn before slaughter. Most kept chickens, which could provide eggs and meat and which could often scrounge much of their food in the summer and only needed to be fed during the winter months. Cows were kept by most farmers for their hides, milk, meat and manure as well as being used as draft animals. Sheep were kept for their hides, milk, meat, manure as well as their wool. Wool was a "money" crop that allowed the wool to be sold for extra money to buy the few things that weren't produced on the farm. Some wool was often kept to be spun by women on a spinning wheel into thread and then put on a loom to be woven into cloth. Making cloth and clothing was so labor intensive (before the Industrial Revolution) that many farmers only had two to three different sets of clothing per lifetime. The most sheep were usually owned by the largest land owners. Initially horses were scarce, owned only by large land owners, as they required more winter feed and were only slightly more productive as farm animals than oxen, which could live on poorer food and be eaten. A horse was seldom eaten by people in Britain.

The main disadvantage of farm animals is that food had to be provided for them during the winters. The winters in Middle age society were always a time of stress where you, your family and your animals had to try and survive on whatever food could be saved through a non growing season. The herds were nearly always cut down by killing or selling many of the livestock and pigeons, chickens, geese, pigs, etc. The meat was salted and stored in barrels to try and preserve it through the winters and the leather used to make many of the items needed on a farm. Dried grains used for cereals, breads, and pottage, salted meat and fish, and seasonal vegetables such as onions, leeks, and cabbage were the most common food items in the winter. Fresh milk and cheese were seldom eaten as the cows were "dried up" to help them get through the winter on poor feed. Often by spring nearly everyone was on restricted rations of a very monotonous diet. Early garden vegetables were considered a great treat. A bad storm or lack of rain at the right time could seriously reduce the crops needed for the winter and there was only a limited recourse because of the limited money, time, and transportation facilities. Farmers seldom kept significant grain reserves above that needed for next year's seeds.