Inventions of the Agricultural Revolution

The machines that drove the future

The Agricultural Revolution

• The agricultural revolution was a period of growth in agricultural technology between the 18th and 19th centuries.

• It has influenced history through the new inventions and techniques it introduced.

Influence of Invention

• The driving force behind the agricultural revolution was the new technology and the faith in new developments that it inspired.

New Technology

• The most important inventions of the Agricultural Revolution were the plow and moldboard, the seed drill, and the mechanical reaper.

The Seed Drill

• Created by Jethro Tull as a means to make the distribution of seeds in a furrow easier and more efficient.

Effects of the Seed Drill

• The seed drill eased the labor of farmers, as well as made the distribution of seeds more even.

• As a result, more food could be produced, contributing to a population boom.

Plow and Moldboard

• Built over time by many different inventors, this staple of farming has been used since ancient times to create furrows in which seeds are deposited.

Effects of the Plow

• The plow saw many small improvements over the years, eventually being able to perform many times its original workload in a fraction of the time.

• This greatly eased the work of farmers, allowing for surplus for the first time in history.

Mechanical Reaper

• Mechanization is most obvious in the mechanical reaper, rapidly evolving from a stick and a blade into a crop harvesting behemoth.

Effects of the Mechanical Reaper

• The mechanical reaper was an invention that made the most heavy use of new developments when it was first released.

• This application of new inventions to old technology created a new hope in the benefits of machines.

New Ways of Thinking

• Another huge factor in the Agricultural Revolution was the development of new, more efficient techniques.

Techniques

• The agricultural revolution saw the development of new techniques in farming, including mechanization, rotation, and enclosure.

Mechanization

• Food production saw an increase in Mechanization, or the application of new technologies and machines to a business.

Effects of Mechanization

• The technique of mechanization was applied to many older inventions, as well as being the direct cause of new technology.

• Mechanization fueled the growing use of machines in agriculture.

Rotation

• Rotation is the practice of changing crops in a certain patch of farmland year after year to avoid exhausting natural resources.

Effects of Rotation

• This new practice enabled farmers to stay in a single area, using it for extended periods of time without slowing in production.

Enclosure

• The technique of enclosure is the practice of putting fences around sections of privately owned land.

Effects of Enclosure

• Enclosure was the way that the businesspeople were able to use their own land, separate from the commons.

• Over time, many smaller farms were more efficient than the large grazing areas.

The Effect of the Agricultural Revolution – In the Past…

• The Agricultural revolution instilled new hope for the future of technology, directly causing the Industrial Revolution!

And Today!

• New technologies are all a result of the Agricultural Revolution.

• It inspired a faith in trying new things in all avenues of enterprise!