A French decree on August 24, 1976, published in the "Official Journal", encouraged farmers to select the biggest, heaviest stallions for breeding. The French National Stud backed this decree, and encouraged the breeding of foals that would fatten rapidly, to be butchered at the age of eighteen months. Between the mid-20th century and the 1980s, the average weight of the Trait du Nord increased from between to over . Since the early 1970s, the use of the Trait du Nord for meat has declined, contributing to a further reduction in breeding. In the early 1990s, recreational riding experienced a revival, and the consumption of horse meat continued to decrease. On March 11, 1994, the Trait du Nord was officially declared to be a workhorse again, and in 1996 another decree prohibited docking of tails in horses. Members of the breed are occasionally exported from France, with some going to Italy, Belgium and Germany, mainly for work in logging and pulling brewery wagons. A few are sent to Sicily and Guadeloupe, but this is quite rare. The Trait du Nord was originally used mainly for agriculture and mining. They also towed barges on waterways, although this use ended quickly with the increased use of the engine at the beginning of the 20th century. The peak use of the breed for agriculture was quite short, running from 1880 to around 1960 (ending due to increased use of mechanized equipment), but it allowed significant progress in agriculture in northern France. The stamina and energy of the breed allows them to perform well in the heavy and compact soils in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and recover quickly after exercise. The nature of soils in Hainaut required a horse weighing more than for effective plowing. Since the 1950s, the Trait du Nord has been the preferred breed for farmers who practiced intensive cropping of cereals and beets in the Northern Great Plains of France. The pulling power of the Trait du Nord made it popular for use during the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century in heavy industry, including mining. In mines, steam engines and internal combustion engines could not be used due to the possibility of a gas explosion. The first horses were used in the mines in 1821 and the Trait du Nord quickly became a favorite for hauling carts in the mines and operating the pulleys used to lift coal to the surface. Breeders worked to adapt the breed to mining requirements, and the breed became larger as more power was needed to pull heavier loads.