The Jutland moraine is a dividing line within the Country between the West and East. In the west there is an Outwash plain made of sand and gravel, with associated poor soils. In the East, there is boulder clay deposited by a retreating ice approximately 10,000 years ago. In the west there is pastoral land and coniferous forests. While in the east the main output is cereal.

There is a gradual transition between west and east in terms of climate. The east is influenced by a continental climate while the west is cool temperate maritime. There is a maximum rainfall of 700mm per year. The North Atlantic drift also influences the climate.

Denmark can be divided between East and West. In the west there is an Outwash Plain and the soils are primarily comprised of sand and gravel. It is agriculturally unproductive and a land reclamation scheme has been introduced. There have been attempts to introduce modern productive farming and mixed farming is now widespread. There is both arable and livestock farming. The east of the Country is well developed. The soil is fertile due to Boulder Clay deposits, the use of fertilisers and a crop rotation system. Due to the scientific approach to farming output is high. Livestock are fed from fodder grown on the fertile Boulder Clay.

The economy is based on three sectors: Agriculture, Industry and Fishing.

Agriculture is central to the economy and has evolved over time. Almost 5% of the working population are involved in agriculture. While industrial exports are higher agriculture is still important. Over the last thirty years yields have increased, as farming becomes intensive.

In the nineteenth century landlords owned large estates similar to Ireland. It did not encourage productive farming. The estates were broken up and until 1950 Denmark was a country of small family owned farms. Since 1950 farms have been consolidated and amalgamated allowing for an increase in capital expenditure.

Until 1880, wheat was grown however following competition from the United States cereal production was disregarded. There was a switch to Dairying and cattle farming using cheap imported fodder. Markets were readily available in both Germany and Britain.

Why farming is good?

Since joining the EU. In 1973 almost 70% of agricultural produce goes to the EU. Market. There are three major types of agriculture.

1. Arable: This is the growing of crops for fodder particularly barley.
2. Dairy & Beef herds: 60% of milk is turned to butter and 15% into cheese.
3. Factory farming: This includes pigs, poultry and eggs. It is known for lean landrace pigs and has 50% of world trade in bacon.

Some of the recent changes in farming include:

1. There has been a change from small to large farms and increase in machinery use.
2. Co-operatives have decreased in numbers but increased in size.
3. There has been a loss of over 300,000 hectares due to infrastructural expansion. However output has not suffered due to the use fertilisers.
4. There has been a move from dairying into other areas.

Industry has become increasingly important. At first glance Denmark has many disadvantages for Industry. First of all there are few raw materials and no HEP. There is also no obvious energy source and only a small internal market of 5millon.

However Denmark became industrialised because they had access to the EU market. It had an excellent location for import. Agriculture and fishing provide raw materials for processing. Industry in turn provides farming with machinery and fertilisers. Denmark focused on industries where skill, technology and quality were more important than raw materials. Industries are small with 18,000 companies and 70% have less than fifty employees. Denmark has become very proficient at finding niches in the market. Copenhagen has become the centre for manufacturing and has become a centre for trade and industry. The population has gone from 200,000 to 1,500,000 over the last hundred years. The main industries are food processing, shipbuilding and electronics.

This has grown in the last one hundred years due to a large modern fleet and processing. They now catch more fish per anum than Norway. There are several reasons for this. They include:

1. The peninsula and islands are surrounded by water. This encourages the use of the sea.
2. There are good ports especially in East Jutland.
3. There is a long tradition of seafaring dating back to the era of the Vikings.
4. They have very rich fish stocks. The sound is rich in Herring stocks.
5. It is beside the European market of 300 million people.
6. Denmark joined the EU in 1973. This gave them access to other fishing areas. They could sell to a bigger market and could avail of guaranteed pricing under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
7. The climate is cool temperate maritime in the west. It has ice free ports in winter and has the residual effects of the NAD.

The North Sea is very important for fishing. 70% of all fish are caught here with 15% alone caught in Skagemark. That includes Cod, herring and haddock. Much of this is processed into fishmeal, animal feed and oils. Recently frozen fish products have become more important. There are 400 processing plants employing 9,000 people. There are 10,000 full time fishermen and some part time too. There are 3,150 boats with employment created in boat building too. There are problems in the industry such as the results of overfishing in the 70’s and a decline in fish stocks. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has done the following:

1. The number of boats have been limited
2. Many species of fish now have quotas
3. Fishermen have been paid fishermen.

Danish fishermen are moving further out into the Atlantic due to dwindling stocks. Some major fishing ports include Skagen and Frederickshaven. Most ports are on the west and North of Jutland where farming is more difficult.