During the Bronze Age and the eras that followed, civilizations all over the

world gradually invented or acquired advanced metalworking techniques,

creating ever-stronger farming implements. Humans continued domesticating
animals and plants to serve as food sources or sources of other useful products.
During the Middle Ages, European farmers began using complex irrigation
systems such as dams, reservoirs, and water-raising machines. They also
developed a three-field system of crop rotation and the moldboard plow. These
inventions greatly increased the efficiency of agriculture.

Between the 17th and 19th centuries, Britain experienced a dramatic increase
in agricultural productivity known as the British Agricultural Revolution. This
"revolution" consisted of a variety of improvements to agricultural methods
which more or less took place simultaneously. Farmers developed new methods
of crop rotation, began cultivating land that had been marshy or forested, and
planted new crops such as the turnip.
The technology of agriculture has continued to evolve over the years. Plows
and other farming implements improved, and the mechanical combine harvester
—a machine that harvests grain—was invented in the 1830s. In the early 1900s,
the horse-drawn plow was a catalyst for introducing more machinery on the
farm. The first tractors were steam-powered engines designed to haul
agricultural equipment and were too expensive for most farmers. The gasoline-
powered tractor was invented in 1892.