Mud Sweat and Tractors

Documentary series looking at the history of 20th century farming in Britain.

Part 1 Milk - In the early years of the century, 150,000 dairy farmers milked by hand and sold milk door to door. By

the end of the century the 15,000 that were left were breeding cows that increased yields by 400 per cent and milk was

sold through supermarkets.

Part 2 Fruit and Veg - A look at the changes in the way fruit and veg was grown, picked and sold, told through three of

the staples in the British landscape - apples, strawberries and tomatoes.

Part 3 Wheat - Told through the working lives and home movie archives of three wheat farming families from the east of

England, it reveals how farmers went from horse power to machine power and how they used science and genetics to

transform the size and yield of wheat and the rural landscape, with controversial outcomes for the countryside.

Part 4 Beef - Documentary series about the history of 20th century farming in Britain looks at how two of our finest

native breeds of cattle, Hereford and Aberdeen Angus, reigned supreme before the Second World War and helped earn

Britain a reputation as the 'stockyard of the world'. It also shows how, since then, both breeds have been transformed

to a much larger size - from standing only to the stockman's waist to reaching his shoulder.