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Narrator: When we think of farms, we often think of tractors, fields, maybe animals and crops. But as the population has grown, and technology has changed, farms and farming has changed over the years too.

If we go right back more than 4000 years, the farms then were different to how we might know them now.

The first people to live in Britain were hunter gatherers, who moved from place to place in search of food. But farming meant people could settle in one place. Large clearings were made in forests where crops were grown and animals were kept.

Most of the tools farmers had were made from stone, until they found metals like bronze and iron. This metal could be made into new tools that were stronger. As this metal work became more common, tools got more advanced.

As technology transformed farmers became more efficient at producing food. Pesticides helped keep bugs away and fertilisers are used to help crops grow.

Unfortunately, some of these chemicals pollute the environment, harming wildlife and damaging the soil for future crops.

Thanks to technology improving further, we can now see what might be harmful or done differently. This has led to more mindful, modern farms which are still large, but use new technology blended with some natural, older methods to help preserve the earths resources.