DK Eyewitness Guides: Farm

Farming began when people first discovered how to cultivate crops swapping a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle for a settled existence.

From then on people's lives were shaped by the rhythm of the farming year from ploughing and sowing to reaping and threshing.

Once domesticated herd animals including cows sheep goats pigs and chickens also played a part in everyday life providing milk meat wool hides and eggs.

Farming continued almost unchanged until the Agricultural Revolution in the mid-18th century when machinery was first introduced.

This made labour-intensive tasks easier and quicker but it changed country life forever.

Technology has continued to transform farming hugely increasing productivity but sometimes harming the environment.Farm is a unique and exciting introduction to the wide range of crops animals tools machines and tasks that make up the farmer's world.