Agricultural History Review, Volume 39 Part 1 (1991), pp. 1–16

The structural changes taking place in dairying during the nineteenth century arc examined in the context of the supply responsiveness of farmers. The paper both responds to a call for this issue to be researched in specific localities and seeks to place the debatc in a wider context by taking a long chronological view. This study suggests that milk as opposed to checse or butter production was embarked upon not as a straightforward response to market forces but as a rcsult of the coalesccncc of many factors. It is noted that the specific factors may vary over time as might the level of their influcncc over the farmers' dccision taking. The conclusion is that while there werc somc laggardly farmers, therc was, taking all factors into consideration, a fairly prompt response. The research reveals the divcrsity of practicc in the locality and cautions against generalization on the subject. 

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