How were poor peasant farmers in 17th century Europe convinced to adopt the four-field crop rotation system?
Was there communication between peasants? Did the state teach peasants the new technique to improve yields? Were peasants suspicious of changing centuries old techniques?
Thanks
First, I presume you are referring to Norfolk system of wheat , turnips , barley and clover. There's a certain strain of the history of the industrial revolution that focuses on the contributions of a few great men. One think to keep in mind is that farmers across England and the low countries were experimenting with new forms of crop rotation, animal breeding, news ploughs etc. Peasants and small farmers were constantly innovating and not just having innovation communicated at them.
First, there was a strong tradition of rural touring. Many would spend months of time touring the countryside looking into the best farming practices. They would write up their reports, and converse with farmers spreading new technologies and ideas throughout England. There was also a class of professional surveyors, often farmers themselves, who would allow landowners to pressure tenants into adopting the latest technologies. The 17th and 18th centuries also had widespread literacy (I'm blanking on the exact numbers but male literacy rates were I believe around 40%). Farmers also set up societies and groups to promote progressive farming within their communities, and it was fairly common for farmers to send sons from backwards regions to more advanced regions for training and apprenticeship. Government involvement however, was fairly limited as far as agricultural extension is concerned. The following paper should go into much more detail than I have time to right now.
As far as peasant attitudes at the time, it's hard to say. That said, my area of expertise lays more in modern agricultural history, and from my experience modern poor farmers are surprisingly willing to adopt novel technologies and crops so long as there is a good supportive environment.