Farming has always played an important role in Denmark and continues to do so. It originates all the way back to the end of the ice age, around 11-12,000 years ago, when huge ice sheets melted and left behind a cold and open landscape. Gradually, the climate grew milder and the land became covered with thick ancient forests. Around 5,000 years later, agriculture spread throughout Europe to the area around the Baltic Sea. In the late Mesolithic period, approx. 6,000 years ago, the first traces of agriculture appeared in Denmark. In this period, the inhabitants started to cut down the forests, creating grazing areas for wild animals and thus starting animal domestication.


The transition to farming made it necessary to cut down woodland, which led to the development of an important tool, the sharp flint felling axe. Further development up to around the beginning of the Iron Age and Viking Age includes the discovery of an ancient plough in Arden, the use of iron in harvesting tools and stables for cattle. There are traces of ploughing with the Arden ancient plough in e.g. the sandy soil below Store Vildmose.

A central era in the history of farming, is the breakthrough of industrialisation, a period leaving its mark on the region of North Jutland. The transition to industrial society was not only characterised by machinery taking over production from animals and people, but also by urbanisation and cooperative movements. The principles of the cooperative movement arrived in Denmark with the formation of the first farming union in Thisted in 1866, and the first cooperative dairy was founded in 1882 in the village of Hjedding near Ølgod in West Jutland.

Cooperative dairies and cooperative pig slaughterhouses came to dominate the farming and slaughtering industries. This reorganisation of agriculture created a production and export pattern that remained in force until 1960.
However, the post-war period was primarily marked by the rise of urban industries, and apart from a short period in the early 1950s, industry has been more important than agriculture. Even so, farming has continued to play a significant role. Denmark is for instance still the world’s leading exporter of pork products.

But the number of farms continues to fall drastically and in 2002, it was down to a total of 50,000 businesses in Denmark. The area under cultivation has not declined, but the general trend is toward fewer, but larger farms. Another development within the agricultural sector is a growing interest in organic farming. In 1990, 523 of 79,338 farming businesses were organic. In 2000, the figure had increased to 3,478 organic farms out of 54,541.

There are numerous market towns in North Jutland, which developed between the end of the Viking Age around 1050 and the Reformation. A market town was granted certain trading and guild rights. These privileges were granted by the king or bishop, guaranteeing law and order in return for the payment of taxes and other duties by the citizens.

Frederikshavn, Aalborg, Nibe, Mariager, Skagen, Sæby, Nykøbing and Mors are typical examples of market towns in the region. You can find fascinating traces of the sort of commercial activities undertaken in these towns. In Nibe, you can see traces of the Limfjord herring trade in e.g. the artwork in the town church and in the town coat of arms, comprised of three herrings. The town streets also boast many interesting old buildings, which were originally shops.

Danish society was turned upside down in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The growth of industry led to the migration of the rural population into towns due to the new employment opportunities. At the same time, the farming class became more well-off and increasingly bought ready-made goods such as machine-made clothing, tools and equipment in towns rather than making it themselves.

Morsø Jernstøberi (foundry), founded in 1853 and which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2003, is an example of early industrial manufacturing in Denmark. The Støberimuseet (foundry museum) in Nykøbing Mors, is home to several of the old industrial buildings. In addition to exhibiting tools and other products from the works, the museum also tells the story of the generations of workers who lived and worked in the buildings there.

Fishing has always been important in this part of Jutland, and the fishing industry continues to play an important commercial role today. Skagen, Hirtshals and Hanstholm in particular, are important towns from where fish are exported to most of Europe.

From the 1860s, fishing also benefitted from technological advances in the form of steam engines and later other engines. Fishing in North Jutland was very much in tune with technology and many of the new inventions had their roots in North Jutland, such as floating trawls, which enabled boats to fish for shoals at different depths.

The globalisation of business has had a significant effect on North Jutland. Over the past twenty years, traditional industries such as dockyards, cement manufacturing and various food-related industries have in many cases been closed or relocated to other parts of Denmark and elsewhere.

This has led to many changes in North Jutland, a pattern recognised in many other parts of the western world, where the biggest growth is now to be found in service and other knowledge-based industries. A good example of this is tourism, which recalculated to full-time jobs, now employs over 8,000 people in North Jutland with a turnover of around DKK 7 billion.