The Diffusion of Agricultural Innovations in Early Modern England: Turnips and Clover in Norfolk and Suffolk, 1580-1740

Abstract

Turnips and clover have long been regarded as two of the most significant innovations of the so-called 'agricultural revolution' in England. This paper presents the evidence for the spread of these crops in Norfolk and Suffolk from 1580 to 1740 using data from some 4000 farmers' probate inventories. In attempting to explain the timing and pattern of adoption the role of these new fodder crops within husbandry systems is related to more general changes in the agricultural economy and to some of the constraints farmers faced if they wished to adopt. The spread of these crops is then related to media of communication and the employment of these media by different social groups involved in farming. Social status provides a key, not only to understanding the way in which information was transmitted, but to explaining how farmers might react to that information.