ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

There are 4 sectors of the economy which are usually included:

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

New Amazon page for November 2006

TERTIARY

QUATERNARY

have also seen mention of QUINARY

PRIMARY INDUSTRY

Case Study: Farming - Commercial farming in the UK and Subsistence farming in an LEDC such as KENYA.

Also look at Quarrying in the Peak District

• For a large part of 2000, a key issue was the UK Foot & Mouth outbreak, which had repercussions outside of farming, particularly for rural tourism. For the latest information, try the DEFRA site, or the WELSH equivalent: the CCW. They may well have information on the way that farms are rebuilding following the outbreak. Many farms have set up websites following the outbreak, and for many farmers the contact they had with other farmers by e-mail while quarantined, and the information they could obtain from websites kept them fairly sane during a very stressful period.
• There are several virtual farm visits on the National Farmer's Union site, the NFU. You can use these as case studies or wander around by clicking on photos and arrows. They have a range of different farm types. This has recently been updated, and is now even better. Their recent campaign, called Holiday Watch has involved handing out postcards to people going on holiday to ask about the checks that were carried out on their return at customs for them bringing in contaminated meat products. I was recently offered some contraband persimmon.  Recommended.
• Parts of the NFU site's content have recently been redesigned and re-designated as FACE. This has useful resources for the younger age groups. Go along and get some details.
• What effect has the change to different farming methods had on wildlife ? There's an excellent article on this at FARM DIRECT. Worth going to the home page of this site too as there are further excellent illustrated article such as 'Grass - the invisible crop' - there are even some jokes (mostly bad ones) such as:

Q. Which side of a chicken has the most feathers?
A. The outside.

What is the difference between a letterbox and a bull's bottom?
    I don't know
I'll find someone else to post this letter...

• Farm welfare is covered by the COMPASSION IN WORLD FARMING group. They have some excellent fact-sheets and reports. One has to be aware though that they have a particular agenda - albeit a wholly worthy one. The reports, such as 'Factory Farming and the Myth of Cheap Food' are available as downloadable PDF files. This could form the basis for some 'AS' level work, and could also act as the start for some PSE work with older pupils.
• Farms are increasingly having to diversify to stay in business. For a farm in the Lake District that has done this, you could try ROOKIN HOUSE farm. There are lots of other Farm holiday destinations that you could also search for.
• You can also download a series of (text-based) fact-sheets on farming from FOOD and FARMING site. These are rather good - there's a 5 page document on sheep farming for example. These can be used to put together simpler fact sheets or writing frames for literacy activities.
• Looking for pictures of crops ? go for the GOOGLE image search. Handy for pictures of anything you want. A recent survey was critical of pupils' ability to recognise basic foods - increasingly people don't know where their food comes from. A large number of children couldn't even recognise broccoli.

DIVERSIFICATION

Many farmers have had to look for alternative sources of income as farm incomes in some areas have declined, although there are some who remain sceptical when they see the vehicles farmers drive. The recent foot-and-mouth outbreak has prompted many to reconsider the future. A homework I give to students is to research some of the many ways that farmers can make a living other than by farming, some of which may be more lucrative, but require a very different type of business acumen.

Farm visits can provide some income. We used to visit a farm in the Lake District in the days when we still had 6th form residential visits. During the Foot and Mouth outbreak, one farmer had a lot of time on her hands and built a website including a virtual farm tour. Why not pay a visit to BEECHENHILL FARM in the Peak District National Park. Some excellent FAQ sections, and links to other farm sites. You'll need Adobe Acrobat to download some of the reports, which would also be useful for GCSE and AS students. There's also an excellent FARM JOURNAL which lists the jobs that are done at different times of the year. Recommended.

• Silviculture: the farming of trees: usually done by the FORESTRY COMMISSION. Has a developing education section (Learning section)

• Farm Holidays: this site has details on FARM HOLIDAYS IN THE PEAK DISTRICT.

• Going over to ORGANIC farming (although the increase in GM usage apparently looks set to wipe out Organic farms as they couldn't realistically claim to be free of contamination). One farm near Bruichladdich on the Isle of Islay (home of the finest malt whiskies on earth) has become the first to be approved by the RSPB for its wildlife friendly farming methods. Find out more at FARMING FOR BIRDS.

CASE STUDY

We use the Commercial Dairy farm of Gilbert Hitchen on the Cheshire Plain in NW England.

This is covered in a Place and People programme called 'Changing Land Use', and in the 'Key Geography for GCSE Book 1', with worksheets in the Teachers' Guide for the series.

Using the textbook, fill in the FARM SYSTEMS DIAGRAM for the Inputs, Processes and Outputs.

COFFEE PRODUCTION

Coffee is the world's second most drunk drink after water.

SECONDARY

Have used the TOYOTA car plant as our case study for some time. It makes a good one really. Lots of interesting background detail, and some new stuff from Tony Cassidy to add a bit of interest.

NIC's

Many LEDC's are becoming increasingly industrialised as they emerge as the 'least cost location' for a number of industries, notably in manufacturing. Many call centres are also being moved to countries other than the ones in which the companies are based. The recent move of companies like Dyson and Dr. Marten's has been reported in the press.

The countries which are rapidly industrialising are known as NIC's: Newly Industrialised (or Industrialising) Countries, and they include places such as Taiwan and Malaysia. South Korea is also the home for many newly emerging countries. The countries are also part of the Pacific Rim, and there are some useful case studies in the Channel 4 series: "Place and People: Asia Pacific"

The Channel 4 website has some useful materials such as Curriculum information and teachers' notes on the various programmes:

VIETNAM: TOURISM TAKE-OFF: Looks at the economic background in Vietnam, and the development of tourism in certain areas

PHILIPPINES: RICE AGAINST TIME: A look at the landscape of Luzon island, and the traditional industry of rice farming. This is causing problems and many Filipinos leave the land by seeking education, city employment and emigration.

THAILAND: BANGKOK, GRIDLOCK CITY: Looks at how the growth in car ownership is changing life in the ancient city (this is also a feature of many Chinese cities at present) - looks at how city dwellers cope with the car.

There is really only one relevant example at the moment which can be used:

CHINA

China's economy is developing at a dramatic rate. This is leading to a huge demand for energy and resources.

My school is currently setting up a link with a Chinese school: the idea being to set up e-mail communication.

In November 2004, we had a visit from a number of staff from Chongqing Middle School. They were very interested in the work that was going on.

See my CHINA page for more on the link.

DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY

See my new page on AMAZON (rather than the old Argos case study) - new for November 2006

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