For this discussion board assignment, you should start with a brief summary of the module readings. Your summary should be about 100-150 words and the major response should be at least 150 words so in total your discussion post should be at least 250 words. Then, write a response to one the following major post questions.

Major Post Question Options (Please select at least one question from the list below):

The accumulation of technological innovations during the (late) agrarian era made the Industrial Revolution possible. What were some of the more important innovations that emerged during the agrarian era, and what role did they play in facilitating the Industrial Revolution?
A number of social scientists have discussed the fact that innovations often have unanticipated consequences. Identify and discuss some of the unanticipated consequences of innovations such as: Protestantism, steam engine, money, mass literacy, automobiles.
Discuss why the ideologies and social structures of agrarian societies generally have had negative feedback effects on technological innovation, whereas those of industrial societies have had positive feedback effects.
What advantages do large societies have in competition with smaller ones? Why do you think this? Do you think smaller societies have any advantages over larger societies? Why or why not?
Major Post: Your original post should be at least 150 substantive words. When answering the question(s), you should attempt to critically engage with the literature. This means going beyond a summary of what the textbook says about the topic. Rather, you should use that as a starting point for your own contribution.

Minor Posts: You must also respond to at least two (2) of your classmates’ posts in a substantive manner. Response posts should be at least 150 words each. It is not acceptable to repeat information from your original post in your response post to a classmate. Your response posts should propel the conversation started by your classmate forward. Posts consisting only of “I agree” or “Hello X, I enjoyed your post,” and so forth will receive no credit.

General Information:

Your posts should use ASA style in-text citations, with page numbers, and contain a reference list at the end.
Please type your responses using correct spelling, grammar, and syntax.
This discussion board is worth 30 total points (20 major post and 5 points for minor post 1 and 5 points for minor post 2).

ANSWER

Important Innovations That Emerged During the Agrarian Era

Discussion Post

Some of the more important innovations that emerged during the agrarian era

There were many important innovations during the agrarian era. One of the main innovations was crop rotation, where there was the development of the Norfolk four-course rotations. This innovation brought about increased crop yielding, and livestock yields by improving soil fertility and reducing fallow. Another innovation included selective breeding as a way of stabilizing certain qualities as a way of reducing genetic diversity. As more and more farmers followed the innovations, they started experiencing a dramatic increase in the size and quality of the animals.

Mechanization is another form of innovation for the agrarian revolution. New tools were invented, where the old ones were also perfected as a way of improving the efficiency of various agricultural operations. One of the machines included changes in design for the basic plow, which helped reduced the time taken to prepare the land for farming. There was also the introduction of synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides as a part of the revolution. Such a landmark innovation enabled in boosting the amount of crop production, through having more yields. The specialized monocultures helped to boost the farmers’ reliance on chemicals, in parts since the crop diversity helped in suppressing weeds and other pests.

Effects of Agriculture on the Industrial Revolution

The revolution aided in bringing about the industrial revolution through intentions that altered the process of farming. The process created a decline in both the intensity of the work and the number of laborers needed. The decline in the number of workers on a given farm further fuel for the industrial revolution. Many of the workers who were working on the farms, decided to migrate to the city to work industrial jobs. This is since the opportunities for working at the farms had been snatched away by the emergence of machinery which worked faster and more effectively. It also led to farmers focusing on yielding more quality and quantity yields, meaning that the supply of food in the era began increasing.

As a result of the agrarian revolution, there were many industrial changes in utilizing land and animals through mostly the use of agricultural machines from inventors. With an increasing population, there was cheaper and available labor for the industrial revolution in major urban centers. This made it possible to stabilize the number of agricultural workers and also stop the growth of population pressure on land. Ultimately it created conditions for improving labor productivity and incomes. As a result of industrialization, there was a rise in demand for food and agricultural products. This led to an increase in profitability for agricultural outlets and hence increasing purchases of industry-produced goods. The innovations and inventions from the agricultural revolutions were one of the largest factors which helped bring about the industrial revolution.

The agrarian revolution brought about changes in organization, management, finance, and marketing among other sectors, hence making the new techniques more effective for sue. The agricultural revolution was a clear turning point for many other nations across the globe. It helped in increasing the overall output and made more nations grow immensely in terms of the economy. This made many nations emulate the efforts done by the countries, more so in terms of mechanization, use of chemicals, and crop rotation, as a way of trying to boost their yields.