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TheNorfolk four-course system is a method of agriculture that involvescrop rotation. Unlike earlier methods such as thethree-field system, the Norfolk system is marked by an absence of afallow year. Instead, four different crops are grown in each year of a four-year cycle:wheat,turnips,barley, andclover orryegrass.[1]
This system was developed in the early 16th century in the region ofWaasland[citation needed] (in present-day northern Belgium), and was popularized in the 18th century byBritish agriculturistCharles Townshend. The sequence of four crops (wheat,turnips,barley andclover), included afodder crop (turnips) and a grazing crop (clover), allowinglivestock to be bred year-round. The Norfolk four-course system was a key development in theBritish Agricultural Revolution.
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