APHG Unit 5 Agriculture

Okay, here’s an explanation of Von Thunen’s Model, focusing on the key aspects you’ve starred:

Von Thunen’s Model: A Spatial Theory of Agriculture

Von Thunen’s Model, developed by Johann Heinrich von Thunen in the early 19th century, is a spatial model that explains the pattern of agricultural land use around a central market city. It’s based on the idea that farmers make rational decisions about what to grow based on the interplay of land rent (the economic rent derived from the land) and transportation costs. The model assumes a number of simplifying conditions:

• Isolated State: A self-sufficient region with one central market city.
• Homogeneous Landscape: The agricultural land surrounding the city is flat, fertile, and uniform in quality.
• Single Transportation Mode: All farmers use the same mode of transportation (originally, horse-drawn carts). Transportation costs are directly proportional to distance.
• Rational Farmers: Farmers seek to maximize their profits.
• Perfect Competition: All farmers have equal access to the market and information.

The Concentric Rings and Their Products (and Why They’re Located There):

Von Thunen’s model predicts a series of concentric rings of agricultural activity around the central market city. Each ring represents a different type of farming, determined by its profitability considering both production costs and transportation costs to the market. Here is a breakdown of each zone:

• Ring 1: Market Gardening and Dairying

  • Products: Fruits, vegetables, dairy products (milk, butter, cheese), and flowers.
  • Why Here: This zone is closest to the city because these products are:
    • Perishable: They spoil quickly and need to be delivered to market rapidly before they become unsalable.
    • High Transport Cost: Dairy products are heavy and bulky relative to their value, making transportation expensive. Vegetables are also fragile.
    • High Demand: These products are often in high demand in cities.
    • Profit Maximization: By being close to the market, farmers in this zone can minimize transportation costs and maximize profits, even though land rent is higher.

• Ring 2: Timber and Fuelwood

  • Products: Wood for construction and fuel.
  • Why Here: In Von Thunen’s time, wood was a crucial source of fuel and building material.
    • Heavy and Bulky: Wood is very heavy and bulky to transport, making it expensive to haul over long distances.
    • Weight-Losing: The weight-losing nature of wood allows it to be closer to the market.
    • Profit Maximization: Being closer to the city minimizes transportation costs for this bulky commodity, even if land rent is higher.

• Ring 3: Intensive Agriculture (Grains and Field Crops)

  • Products: Grains like wheat, rye, barley, and oats.
  • Why Here: Grains are less perishable and less bulky than the products in Rings 1 and 2.
    • Lower Transport Costs: Grains can be stored for longer periods and transported more easily than perishable goods.
    • Lower Land Rent: Land rent decreases further from the market, making grain production more profitable at this distance.
    • Profit Maximization: The balance between land rent and transportation costs makes grain production most profitable in this zone.

• Ring 4: Ranching/Livestock Farming

  • Products: Livestock (cattle, sheep, pigs) raised for meat and hides.
  • Why Here: Livestock can be driven to market (“self-transporting”).
    • Low Perishability: Livestock can be driven to market.
    • Low Transport Costs: Though herding livestock over long distances can be challenging, it’s generally less expensive than transporting large quantities of grain or wood.
    • Lower Land Rent: Ranching requires large areas of land, which are cheaper farther from the city.
    • Profit Maximization: The lower land rent compensates for the costs of herding livestock to market.

• Beyond Ring 4: Wilderness/Unused Land

  • Products: None, or very extensive grazing.
  • Why Here: The distance from the market is so great that no agricultural activity is profitable enough to justify the transportation costs.

Why the Circle Shape?

The concentric rings are circular because the model assumes a uniform landscape and transportation cost per unit distance in all directions from the city. A circle is the locus of all points equidistant from a center, so the boundaries of the rings represent the points where the profitability of one type of agriculture gives way to another. The radius of each circle is determined by the interplay of production costs, transportation costs, and market price for each product.

Important Considerations and Limitations:

• Simplifying Assumptions: The model relies on unrealistic assumptions. In reality, landscapes are rarely uniform, transportation is rarely uniform, and farmers don’t always make perfectly rational economic decisions.
• Modern Transportation: Modern transportation technologies (refrigerated trucks, trains, airplanes) have significantly altered the patterns predicted by the model. Perishability is less of a constraint.
• Multiple Markets: The model assumes only one market city. In reality, there are often multiple markets that influence agricultural land use.
• Government Policies and Subsidies: Government policies can distort the market and influence agricultural land use patterns.
• Technological Advancements: Advances in farming technology (e.g., irrigation, fertilizers) can alter production costs and shift the boundaries of the rings.

Despite its limitations, Von Thunen’s Model is a valuable tool for understanding the spatial organization of agriculture and the importance of transportation costs and land rent in determining land use patterns. It highlights the trade-offs farmers face when deciding what to grow and where to grow it. While the specific rings may not be perfectly replicated in the real world, the underlying principles of the model still have relevance in explaining agricultural landscapes.