Crop yield

In agriculture, the yield is a measurement of the amount of a crop grown, or product such as wool, meat or milk produced, per unit area of land.

The more grain or fodder a farmer can produce, the more draft animals such as horses and oxen could be supported and harnessed for labour and production of manure.

Increased crop yields also means fewer hands are needed on farm, freeing them for industry and commerce.

This, in turn, led to the formation and growth of cities, which then translated into an increased demand for foodstuffs or other agricultural products.

A farmer can invest a large amount of money to increase his yields by a few percent, for example with an extremely expensive fertilizer, but if that cost is so high that it does not produce a comparative return on investment, his profits decline, and the higher yield can mean a lower agricultural productivity in this case.