Middle Age Farming?

Question

What is the differences and similarities between farming today and farming in the Middle Ages? Any info would be highly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

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Answer 1

Farming a thousand years ago was very different from what it is today. Medieval farmers earned just enough to survive - this combined with the 12 hours per day an average farmer had to work - made them very poor and unhappy.

Farms back then were small. They normally surrounded a small town which depended in the food produced by these farms so if the farms failed, so the towns. Farms were never property of the peasants - they were property of the lord and he would exchange farming land if he got back taxes in return.

A lord would normally appoint a noble to look after the working peasants. This generally worked very well as a farmer was to work and give tribute to the noble and then the noble tribute to the lord who was the wealthiest of all.

http://medieval-castles.org/index.php/fa...

Answer 2

Farming during the middle ages was heavily dependent on animal and human power.  Plowing was with crude plows pulled by humans or draught animals (if available).  Seeding of cereal crops was accomplished by scattering a portion of the previous years crop.  Harvesting of cereal crops would require the stalks to be cut with scythes and sickles and stacked to dry further.  The stacks were then collected and the grain was manually threshed from the stalk. After that, the wheat was manually separated from the chaff. Animal drawn carts would transport the grain to the mill where it was milled on stones powered by animals or water.

Within the past 100 years, tractors have replaced draught animals.  No-till is replacing the moldboard and disc plow  which replaced the earlier wooden stick plows.  Planters and drills sowing seeds in a uniform pattern have replaced the farmer scattering seeds. Combines have replaced the sickle and scythe as well as threshing.  Trucks haul grain to the mills that are powered by electricity.

Some similarities include grain types (i.e., wheat, barley and oats) but newer varities.  In some cases the same fields may still be in agricultural production.

The farmer still won&#039;t get rich farming.

Answer 3

Farming then was carried out by human and animal power combination. [This slows work, but farmers had work all round year.] Now machine powers are added.

Plowing was not very deep then 15 to 20 cm (6&quot; to 8&quot;) , now is deeper than 60 cm (24&quot;) - this ends up in greater erosion.

Animal dung and urine as well as wasted animal food was used as fertilizer in the farm. Now mostly chemical fertilizers are used. This weakens the food properties and breeds weaker population.

Very mild herbal insect repellents were used then. Now replaced by Strong chemicals. Not only pollutes environments also easily available poison for farmers to commit suicide.

Seeds were stored from last years crops. Now it is hybrid. This also adds to weaker crops and weaker society.

Farmers had enough to eat till next harvest then. Now they have to sale everything they grow, to square up the loan they take for higher inputs, and starve year round!

Answer 4

i concur with the previous 3 answers each has pointed out something different. a combining of their efforts would give an excellent overview.