One of the most important advances in farming technique that contributed to the British Agricultural Revolution, dated variously by scholars from sometime between the late 17th and early 19th centuries, was a simple one: farm laborers used a rotation of turnips and clover instead of letting their fields lie fallow. Turnips can be grown in winter, and are deep-rooted, allowing them to gather minerals that are unavailable to shorter-rooted crops. Clover fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere into a form of fertilizer. This permitted more intensive cultivation, and provided fodder to support an increasing number of livestock, whose manure further added to soil fertility.

Because the fields were more productive, there was a population explosion. As the population increased, farm laborers also became more efficient. Since there was far less need for farm laborers, there was suddenly an extensive urban workforce. And it is this workforce that enabled the Industrial Revolution in Britain.