Southdown sheep no longer economical and smaller flocks averaged only 135 ewes apiece. The use of artificial fertilizers had gained ground, and the combine-drill, which sowed grain seeds and fertilizer together, rendered close-folding by sheep unnecessary. Gradually surrendering to basic arable farming changes, the Southdown became largely a grassland breed. During the interwar years, the United Kingdom was known for farm animal breeding, and pedigreed Southdowns were still being exported to most parts of the world, especially New Zealand. In 1937, the number of exported Southdowns reached 459 head. During the Great Depression, a severe and prolonged fall in the prices of
Southdown Motor Services the closure of the depot in Eastbourne in 2003, operations were split with the eastern end becoming "Stagecoach in Hastings" and the western division becoming "Stagecoach in the South Downs". The legal title of the western division then reverted to Southdown Motor Services Ltd. Until 2005, Stagecoach had four depots remaining in East Sussex (Eastbourne Outstation, Lewes, Seaford, Uckfield); the business in this area was sold to Brighton & Hove along with 15 buses and 66 staff. Vehicles and artefacts of the old company are preserved at Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre by the Southdown Omnibus Trust. In 2008, the