The Second World War is a turning point in the trend towards agricultural
specialisation. From 1941 on, statistics show that there is a
sharp decline in the number of farms growing wheat or flax or
raising livestock. In contrast, they also show that average farm
production rises constantly over the same period. The traditional
diversified farm, which combined the growing of crops with the
raising of chickens, pigs, and cattle on a modest scale, gave
way to farms specialising in one production sector, such as the
large-scale cultivation of cereal grains and the raising of dairy
cows or swine. The growth in swine production is a perfect example
of farm specialisation. There are now fewer farms involved in
this type of production than before, but they now account for
a much greater part of the total.
Agricultural
Work : Production and Productivity
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