As the pace of agricultural change gathered momentum, so new ways of farming the land associated with animal enterprises came into being. Almost all involved the intensification of production methods and many, indeed with pigs and poultry virtually all, resulted in the importation of feed for stock. Large lorries transporting processed feed from the mills and extrusion plants of the feeding-stuffs firms became commonplace on country roads. Both large and small farmers also purchased feeds which they then mixed themselves. All farmers had ready advice at hand when they changed to new methods. Not only did the advisory services of government provide this free of charge but the representatives of the feed firms also provided guidance, albeit not quite so dispassionate. The farming press helped with informative articles and with stories of the successes of individual farmers. Many local farmers clubbed together to form local discussion groups (often with the local adviser as secretary and unobtrusive guide) to which experts were invited to extol the virtue of some innovation and where individual experiences and indeed prejudices were well ventilated.

The period from the 1950s to the 1970s was the main one in which this massive transfer of technology from research, through development and into practice took place. Adoption of new methods often led to the emergence of new problems and certainly to a demand for the rationalisation of the accrued knowledge that had resulted in their genesis.