Southdown sheep wool and cereals due to rising volumes of imports from the British Empire was accompanied by the Wet Years - a six-year period of cold, wet weather with little sun. In the Second World War, the South Downs were commandeered for military training, only fringe farms being left to produce milk for the towns. Sheep farming declined further after the war, although it is now being encouraged again through the designation of the downland as an environmentally sensitive area, and the restoration of arable land to sheepwalk. The Southdown has been placed on a watch list by the Rare Breeds
Southdown Plantation the 86 sugar mills that had operated in Terrebonne Parish during the sugar boom of the 19th century. In 1974, the plantation was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The following year, the owner Valhi, Incorporated, a subsidiary of Southdown Sugar, donated the property to the Terrebonne Historical and Cultural Society. While the plantation house was being renovated, the original 1893 pink and green paint scheme of the exterior walls was discovered and restored. On June 27, 1982, the plantation house and servants' quarters were opened to the public as a museum. Southdown Plantation Southdown Plantation is a