Agricultural History Review, Volume 55 Part 1 (2007), pp. 51–74

In the second half of the seventeenth century, Scotland’s under-developed economy struggled to recoverfrom the Cromwellian wars and their aftermath. Although there is evidence of an expansion in cereal production in this period, the country was a marginal area for bread grains and a severe famine was experienced in the 1690s. This essay presents crop yield data recorded over a 23-year period (1673–95) on a farm in the Carse of Gowrie, one of Scotland’s most favoured arable areas. It explores the nature and context of the improved agrarian practices introduced there and the considerable increase in returns achieved. However, the generally low yields obtained, together with fuctuations in their level from one harvest to the next, also reveals the threat to the supply of staple foods posed by an extended period of poor weather. 

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