How have livestock production practices changed? Who or what has influenced these changes? Our interactive timeline of key events in British Agriculture history is now live and helps to address some of these questions.

If you have explored the FIELD website you will have spotted that out timeline has been under construction for a while, which is why we are so excited that we can finally say that it is live and ready for exploring.

One of the core aims of FIELD is to explore the past, present and future of livestock farming in the UK. As part of our exploration of the past, the projects historians have constructed a timeline of key events in British Agricultural History from the early 20th century onwards. These provide an insight into the research, policy and wider socio-cultural factors that have shaped, and continue to shape, UK farming. In particular, the timeline contains several key events in relation to our two case study endemic conditions: BVD and lameness.

The generation of the timeline has also been supported by project partner the Museum of English Rural Life who have supplied a range of images to accompany the different entries from their archives, which really help bring the timeline to life.

Professor Karen Sayer emphasised the timelines significance – “The timeline is a culmination of a lot of hard work by the historians on the FIELD project to bring together several different strands of research into one place. It’s accessible and interactive nature makes it a great resource and educational tool for all those interested in UK farming and how it has evolved over the past century”.

The timeline will be updated over the remaining two years of the project as the programme of research continues, and farming policy in the UK evolves as a result of Brexit and the new Agriculture Bill. If there is something you think we should add, or a question you have from exploring this then contact us.

Explore the timeline for yourself here.