Agriculture

The Isle of Man is predominantly rural. Cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock have played an important part in the lives of many Manx people, whether they were employed as labourers on the larger quarterland farms, or on their own upland crofts, and farming has contributed much to the appearance of the landscape. The traditional methods of agriculture, and the unpredictable climate, demanded a ready supply of affordable labour. For many of those engaged on the land however, life was undoubtedly hard. The lure of higher wages (often abroad) contributed to the depopulation of the countryside in the 19th and 20th Centuries. This has resulted in the gradual mechanisation of farming, and changes in the appearance of the landscape.

Horses at work on the land

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