During the last century in the UK, traditional heavy industries, such as iron and steel, were located next to coalfields (for power supply), raw materials and railways. Paper mills were found near a source of wood and woollen mills near big sheep farming areas.
But industries in the UK today are generally high-tech and tend to be far less tied with regard to their location. The traditional need to be close to raw materials, energy supply and the market is no longer as important. With greatly improved transport and communication now available, the two most important factors of location have become access and transport hubs, for example ports, railway terminals and airports, and the cost of labour.
Hi-tech industries are often referred to as footloose as they are not tied to one particular location.
Company owners still have to consider the following when deciding where to locate:
Labour force (where people live).
Relief (whether the land is suitable for building on).
Space (whether there is space available to build on).
Market (where the people or firms that make up the market are located).
Leisure facilities (whether facilities such as gold courses or health spas are nearby).
Government grants (whether the government is offering money to locate in a certain area).
Transport (proximity to motorways, and also railways and airports).
Around 10,000 years ago humans developed the skills to grow crops from seeds and breed animals. The primary industry of farming, or agriculture, was born. The different types of farming can be split into three groups: arable, pastoral and mixed.
Arable Farming
Involves growing crops such as barley, wheat and oilseed rape.
Market gardening which involves growing fruit and vegetables, often on a small scale and sometimes in controlled greenhouse conditions.
Pastoral Farming
Involves breeding or rearing animals for their meat or other produce.
Sheep, cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys are all bred for their meet.
Poultry (chicken and turkeys) are also reared to produce eggs.
Cows are often bred for their milk (dairy farming)
Mixed Farming
Is the use of a single farm for multiple purposes, for example arable and pastoral farming.
Mixed farming on a small scale, subsistence agriculture, is common in parts of Africa, Asia and South America. Farmers plan to grow only enough food to feed the family, pay taxes or other dues, and perhaps provide a small surplus to sell.
Pastoral farming in Britain is located in the north-west and most arable farming is the south-east. However, the distribution of farming types is complex.
Physical Factors that Influence a Farmer
Physical factors influence the type of farming that is appropriate in a particular region. These factors are: relief, soil, temperature and rainfall.
Relief
Relief aspects of the land (its shape and height) affect what type of farming is chosen.
Flat land is suitable for arable farming as machinery can be used on it.
Steep land is better for pastoral sheep farming because sheep ca graze on steep slopes.
Soil
Depth and quality of soil have an effect on the type of farming.
Deep and fertile soil is suitable for arable farming.
Shallow and lacking fertility may be better for pastoral or mixed farming.
Temperature
Temperature of a local area affects the type of farming.
Some crops are damaged by freezing temperatures; therefore colder, highland areas may not be suitable for arable farming as warmer lowland areas.
Rainfall
Although both animals and crops need water, too much rainfall can destroy crops by encouraging disease or causing flooding.
Pastoral farming is more common in the north and north-west of Britain where land is steeper, soils are thinner, and the climate is often colder and wetter.
The south and east of Britain and flatter, the soils tend to be deeper and richer and the climate is warmer and drier, so there tends to be more arable farming, particularly cereal crops.
Human Factors that Influence a Farmer
The type of farming that chooses to practice and the exact location of a farm may also be influenced by human factors: farm size, technology, accessibility to the market and government help.
Farm Size
Pastoral farming requires a alrge amount of land for the animals to graze on.
Arable farmers can sow crops densely in a small area and practise intensive farming.
Technology
The amount of technology used on a farm varies according to the type of farming.
Arable farms tend to be farmed intensively, so a great deal of money is spent on fertilisers and special machinery such as combined harvesters.
Pastoral farmers tend to practice extensive farming with less money spent on machinery.
Accessibility to the Market
A farm's profit will be dependent on how close the farm is to its market.
It is beneficial for a farm to be close and well linked by roads and motorways to a big market.
Farms that produce perishable goods (items that go bad quickly such as fruit and milk) need to be located close to their markets.
Government Help
A government can encourage certain types of farming if it feels there is market demand. For example, dairy farmers are given grants and subsidies (financial assistance to guarantee a minimum income).
Farmers may adopt a particular type of farming if government grants make it more profitable.
The History of Farming in Britain
In many developing countries, farming is still carried on in the same way as it was hundreds of years ago. However, in Britain and other developed countries during the mid to latter part of the 20th century, farming changed significantly with the development of machinery, pesticides and fertilisers. Farms have become more commercial as they have merged to form fewer but large farms.
Since the middle of the 20th century farmers have found it more difficult to stay in business due to competition from foreign producers.
Today, the European Union (EU), along with the British government, helps different groups of farmers to stay in business by providing them with grants and subsidies.
In the past, grants and subsidies created overproduction of agricultural produce within Britain and other European countries and surpluses were produced.
To overcome this waste (the surpluses), farmers were given quotas limiting the amount of produce, such as milk, they can sell within the EU.
Diversification has also been encouraged (where farmers change what they use their land for) and land can be left fallow (idle or uncultivated) for a number of years.
In order to diversify, some farmers have sold parts of their land to be developed for housing or industry. Many farmers have chosen to keep the land, as it may become more economical to cultivate in future. Others have developed income-generating activities such as golf courses, riding schools, paintballing centres and campsites.