Which statement best describes the Second Agricultural Revolution?

• A. Primarily manual labor techniques
• B. The introduction of crop rotation
• C. Increasing reliance on subsistence farming
• D. The adoption of mechanization and new farm technologies beyond basic tools

Answer: (D)

The Second Agricultural Revolution centers on mechanization and new farm technologies that greatly increased production beyond what basic tools could achieve. As industrialization spread, farms began using machines like seed drills, threshing machines, and mechanical reapers, along with improved inputs and practices, to boost yields and speed up work. This shifted farming from largely manual or animal-powered methods toward large-scale, market-oriented agriculture that could supply growing urban populations.

Manual labor emphasis and basic crop-rotation ideas were characteristic of earlier improvements, and subsistence farming gave way to commercially oriented farming as efficiency rose. The key takeaway is that this period is defined by the adoption of machines and advanced equipment that transformed agricultural productivity.