Convertible Husbandry

Convertible husbandry, also called alternate husbandry or up-and-down husbandry, was a farming method in which strips of arable land were temporarily converted to grass pasture, called leys, remaining under grass for up to ten years before being ploughed under again, with some strips eventually becoming permanent pasturage. The system was employed from the 16th through the 19th centuries and was particularly important in England for supporting increasing numbers of livestock; its adoption was a crucial element of the British Agricultural Revolution. Ley farming, a related system of growing fodder on fallow arable plots, continues to be used today as its direct modern continuation.