British Agricultural Revolution
Farmers in the region of Waasland (in present-day northern Belgium) pioneered a four-field rotation in the early 16th century, and the British agriculturist Charles Townshend (1674–1738) popularised this system in the 18th century. The sequence of four crops (wheat, turnips, barley and clover), included a fodder crop and a grazing crop, allowing livestock to be bred year-round. The four-field crop rotation became a key development in the British Agricultural Revolution. The rotation between arable and ley is sometimes called ley farming.