Natural and agricultural and economic zoning of the region with respect to market transformations (on the basis of Chelyabinsk region)

The article is devoted to natural and agricultural and economic zoning of the region connected with the placing and specialization of agricultural industries. Zoning is the traditional tool which helps to identify the potential for the formation of the spatial structure of agriculture. Economic criteria of zoning are dynamic and reflect the evolution of agricultural production. They allow you to allocate fairly stable for a particular stage of development of social and economic territorial entities. Natural and agricultural zoning of the Chelyabinsk region at different stages of its development, criteria and methods of selection territorial units are considered. The authors carry out zoning by the potential and actual indicators of development of dairy cattle production on the basis of statistical data using cluster analysis. Zoning performed helps to detect changes of industrial location in the course of market reforms. In the light of large-scale reforms of the recent years and the impact of a large number of stochastic factors on the system zoning remains relevant for the optimal spatial distribution of industry and management processes. The results of the study and methods of analysis can be the basis of a new agricultural zoning of the region.