Farming practices Roman agriculture

roman hoe blade, field museum in chicago

in 5th century bc, farms in rome small , family-owned. greeks of period, however, had started using crop rotation , had large estates. rome s contact carthage, greece, , hellenistic east in 3rd , 2nd centuries improved rome s agricultural methods. roman agriculture reached height in productivity , efficiency during late republic , empire.

farm sizes in rome can divided 3 categories. small farms 18–108 iugera. (one iugerum equal 0.65 acres or quarter of hectare). medium-sized farms 80–500 iugera. large estates (called latifundia) on 500 iugera.

in late republican era, number of latifundia increased. wealthy romans bought land peasant farmers no longer make living. starting in 200 bc, punic wars called peasant farmers away fight longer periods of time.

cows provided milk, , oxen , mules did heavy work on farm. sheep , goats cheese producers, , prized hides. horses not used in farming, raised rich racing or war. sugar production centered on beekeeping, , romans raised snails luxury food.

the romans had 4 systems of farm management: direct work owner , family; tenant farming or sharecropping in owner , tenant divide farm s produce; forced labour slaves owned aristocrats , supervised slave managers; , other arrangements in farm leased tenant.

cato elder (also known cato censor ) politician , statesman in mid-to-late roman republic , described view of farm of 100 iugera. claimed such farm should have foreman, foreman s wife, ten laborers, 1 ox driver, 1 donkey driver, 1 man in charge of willow grove, 1 swineherd, in sixteen persons; 2 oxen, 2 donkeys wagon work, 1 donkey mill work. said such farm should have 3 presses equipped, storage jars in 5 vintages amounting 8 hundred cullei can stored, twenty storage jars wine-press refuse, twenty grain, separate coverings jars, 6 fiber-covered half amphorae, 4 fiber-covered amphorae, 2 funnels, 3 basketwork strainers, [and] 3 strainers dip flower, ten jars [handling] wine juice...