Effects on the farming community

A depressed looking farm labourer

The great depression caused agricultural landowners and farmers to lose more politically and economically than pastoral farmers. However, there were serious consequences for both farming and agricultural labourers who earned a living from the land.

Agricultural labourers suffered in the following ways:

• Farmers were forced to reduce labourers' wages.
• Increased use of machinery led to agricultural unemployment.
• Many labourers faced poverty and the agricultural workforce was reduced from 1.5 million to 1 million between 1870 and 1901.
• Many agricultural workers lost their homes when they lost their jobs because their cottages came with the job (tied cottages). These workers were often forced into the workhouse [workhouse: A place where the poor and homeless would be given shelter in exchange for work. ].
• Agricultural workers had the worst conditions of employment with poor wages and long working hours well into the early 20th century .
• More food was imported from abroad to feed Britain's growing population and eventually less than 50 per cent of all food consumed in Britain was grown domestically.