THE historian Arnold Toynbee created the idea that between 1750 and 1830 , there was an ‘ Agricultural Revolution ’. Toynbee and other historians of the time presented the Revolution as the work of ‘ heroes ’:

• Jethro Tull promoted the use of the seed drill and the use of horses to pull machinery rather than oxen .

• Charles ‘ Turnip ’ Townshend introduced the turnip and the Norfolk four-course rotation of wheat turnips barley clover onto his farm .

• Robert Bakewell used selective breeding to develop the New

• Leicester sheep and the Colling brothers promoted the selective breeding of Longhorn cattle .

• Thomas Coke of Holkham publicised these new ideas by inviting hundreds of people to his ‘ sheep shearings ’, i . e ., agricultural shows .

• Arthur Young wrote about the new methods and spread ideas more widely .

• The Parliamentary Enclosure Movement was said to have destroyed the old threefield system and created the modern ‘ patchwork ’ of enclosed fields .

The history of the tractor then began in the late 1880s , when petrol engines provided an alternative to steam , which had driven the power farming revolution for almost 100 years . Britain was the world leader in developing agricultural steam power , and the earliest record of steam working on a farm was in Wales in 1798 , when a stationary engine was employed to drive a threshing machine .

High costs and the limited number of uses meant few stationary steam engines were installed , but this all changed when portable steam engines pulled by horses , and self-propelled traction engines , started to arrive in the 1840s . Their mobility meant much greater versatility , attracting contractors and large farms while providing a worldwide growth opportunity for British industry . While Britain was focused on steam power ,

tractors with petrol engines were starting to arrive on American farms .

Whatever and whoever was ultimately responsible for the expansion in the agricultural industry , there is one thing that is certain , the improvements in farming methods , machinery innovation and transportation infrastructure , has helped farmers increase their capacities and output exponentially and are continuing with technology to do so today .

As the demand for machinery and industrialisation grew and transport evolved from horse and cart to vans , ploughs and steam engines to tractors and combines , so too our Witham business expanded . Our product range changed with the times from making cycle oils , candles and carbide to making lubricants and greases suitable for a growing number of agricultural engines and a wide variety of new machinery and equipment being used across the farming industry .

Supporting Farmers for 100 Years

Since then , supporting farmers and related agricultural industries has been at the forefront of the business for many years . Witham ’ s heartland of East Anglia is known for its high food producing land and in turn , a whole variety of machinery and vehicles are used to work and harvest the crops , all needing lubricants to keep them turning .

However , it ’ s not just in the East of England that Witham ’ s reputation and agricultural expertise is prevalent . The Group is now a preferred supplier to many agricultural buying groups throughout the UK and proud of its work with larger farming estates and other agri-linked businesses throughout the whole of the UK .

Heavily involved in the agricultural community , Executive Chairman Geoff Bottom was intrinsicality involved in helping set up the first LAMMA show back in 1982 . LAMMA Show is the United Kingdom ’ s leading agricultural machinery equipment and service show . Since 1982 the LAMMA show ( which originally stood for the Lincolnshire Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association ) has grown to over 900 exhibitors , with in excess of 40,000 attendees and is a show