From Dearth to Plenty: The Modern Revolution in Food Production

Cover......Page 1
Frontmatter......Page 2
Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 12
Acknowledgements......Page 16
PART ONE - The social, economic and political context of agricultural change......Page 20
Agricultural revolutions in Britain......Page 22
The measurement of change......Page 24
The revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries......Page 25
The new technologies of the eighteenth-century revolution......Page 28
Practice with science......Page 29
From depression to depression......Page 31
The decline in production from 1860 to 1938......Page 32
The stagnation of productivity in the period 1860--1938......Page 34
The reaction of Government......Page 36
Selected references and further reading......Page 37
Dating the revolution......Page 39
The economic and political background......Page 40
The 1947 Act......Page 41
The cost of support......Page 42
The change in land use during the modern revolution......Page 43
Changes in numbers of livestock......Page 46
The increases in production of commodities during the revolution......Page 47
The improvement in productivity......Page 50
An economic appraisal......Page 51
Some limitations of estimates of productivity......Page 53
The industrial support of farming......Page 54
The new technologies......Page 55
Selected references and further reading......Page 56
PART TWO - The science and technology of the modern agricultural revolution......Page 58
Experiments with crops......Page 60
The advent of statistical methods......Page 62
R.A. Fisher and modern, statistical methods......Page 63
Subsequent developments......Page 64
Practical application......Page 65
Farm economics and management......Page 66
Econometrics and Earl 0. Heady......Page 67
Linear programming......Page 68
Models and their application......Page 69
The measurement of substances......Page 70
Selected references and further reading......Page 73
Men, horses and machines......Page 75
The need for cultivation......Page 77
The tractor and the plough......Page 78
Seed drills......Page 80
Mechanisation of harvesting......Page 81
Manure disposal......Page 82
Farm buildings......Page 83
Housing and milking the dairy cow......Page 84
Selected references and further reading......Page 85
Background......Page 86
Taxonomy......Page 87
Chemistry and plant nutrition......Page 89
Microbiology of the soil......Page 93
Fertilisers......Page 97
Water and soil......Page 101
An overview......Page 104
Selected references and further reading......Page 105
Weeds......Page 108
The control of pests......Page 115
Plant diseases......Page 124
Selected references and further reading......Page 134
A little history......Page 139
Wheat in Britain......Page 140
Barley breeding......Page 147
Disease control in cereals......Page 152
Other crops......Page 154
Plant breeding world-wide......Page 159
The future......Page 160
Selected references and further reading......Page 161
8 - Integrations and innovations in crop husbandry......Page 163
The grass crop......Page 164
Oil seed rape......Page 168
Forage maize......Page 172
The pea crop......Page 174
The cereals......Page 178
The green revolution......Page 181
Selected references and further reading......Page 182
9 - Hunger in the midst of plenty......Page 185
Phosphorus......Page 186
Cobalt......Page 187
Copper......Page 189
Selenium......Page 195
Problems with feeds......Page 197
The toxicity of bracken......Page 198
Kale toxicity......Page 199
Turkey X disease......Page 200
Selected references and further reading......Page 201
Changes in breed structure......Page 204
The new animals......Page 207
Reproductive physiology......Page 208
The genetic improvement of livestock......Page 214
A bold step for mankind......Page 221
Selected references and further reading......Page 222
The epizootic diseases......Page 224
Cattle diseases......Page 228
Sheep diseases......Page 232
Pig diseases......Page 238
Poultry......Page 239
Selected references and further reading......Page 244
12 - Integrations in animal husbandry......Page 247
Nutritional requirements......Page 248
Science into practice......Page 254
Selected references and further reading......Page 268
PART THREE - How did the science-based revolution happen, and what is the way forward as support is withdrawn?......Page 270
Government support for science......Page 272
Nature of development work......Page 281
The problems of innovation......Page 282
Contributions of science to productivity......Page 285
Integrations and innovations......Page 287
The roles of discovery and development......Page 288
The way forward......Page 289
Selected references and further reading......Page 293
Glossary......Page 295
Index......Page 297