Output and Technical Change in Twentieth-Century British Agriculture (original) (raw)

Previous estimates of British agricultural output in the twentieth century have covered the period before the Second World War, or after it, but not both. This paper reconciles the differences between previous estimates and goes on to calculate changes in the volume of output between 1867 and 1985. As a result, it is suggested that output grew more rapidly between 1945 and 1965 than during any period before or since. Some of the reasons for this rapid growth are then examined, and it is suggested that the rapid adoption of pre-existing technology was of greater significance than the technical innovations of the period. Many of the histories of British agriculture in the twentieth century imply, by their starting or finishing dates, that there was a discontinuity at the beginning or end of the Second World War. Thus Miss Whetham's volume in The Agrarian Histoly of England and Wales ends in 1939, Dr Perren's study of Agriculture in Depression in 194o, and Dr Brown's account in 1947.' The latter two also accept, as does Dr Thirsk-' that the years between 19oo and 1939 represent a continuation of the period beginning in the 187os, when high levels of imports produced low levels of domestic prices. This was the age of'dog and stick' (i.e. low input-low output) farming, with increased emphasis on milk production, except for a brief period during and shortly after the First World War. Holderness goes so far as to assert that 'Farming in 194o was not significantly different in structure and practice from farming in 184o'. 3 In contrast, the period after the Second World War is perceived as one in which government support ('subsidy' and 'feather bedding' are alternative terms which have been used) together with extra science and technology produced dramatic increases in output with a little less land, much less labour, and much more capital. In Joan Thirsk's terminology, the period between 1939147 and 1985 is a period of mainstream agriculture. Historians of postwar agriculture have been concerned to explain how and why the output increases and technical changes of these years came about• Thus Seddon concentrates on the technology, Blaxter and Robertson on the science behind it, • I would like to thank Derek Shepherd, Andrew Errington, and two anonymous referees for their comments on previous drafts of this paper, and Barbara Sheaves for her assistance with the preparation of the diagram.