Norfolk Four-Course Rotation

This diagram illustrates the classic form of the Norfolk four-course rotation system, which allowed a great and sustainable increase in productivity from farmland. In the first year, fields were sown with wheat, which was then harvested and sold. In the second year, root crops were grown on the land and fed to animals, which were then sold; the animals’ manure was used to fertilize the land. In the third year, barley (with soil-enriching clover) was sown and manured; then ryegrass was sown in the fourth year, fixing valuable nitrogen into the soil and providing direct grazing for animals which fertilized the fields before being sold, ready for the wheat crop which would begin the cycle again.

Appears in these articles

Agricultural Revolution; Productivity; Soil Management; Crop Farming

*	Exclusively for MSN Encarta Premium Subscribers Join Now