The Von Thunen Model

created in 18th century as western europe was making switch from subsistence farming to commercial farming.

model only applies to commercial farming

-Johann Heinrich von Thunen, a skilled farmer who was knowledgeable in economics, developed model of land use that showed how market processes could determine how land in different locations would be used.

-Concentric Circles: nested circles sharing same center

-each circle represented zone best suited for particular cost of agriculture--area beyond furthest ring is considered to be too far for farmer to make profit, because transportation costs would be too high

-Model related location of farming activity based on three factors

-transportation costs: if costs are high being close to market is vital if moving perishable or heavy items. in model, it’s assumed that there’s one mode of transportation and that cost is fixed-so further you are, higher cost of transportation

-land costs: assumed to decrease at rate with distance from market.

-distance from market: theorized that farmers seeking to max their profits will be located in the most ideal location-the point where land rent and transportation costs are optimized-the point where each is the lowest without causing other to be high

Assumptions

-farmers are working for maximum profit

-one city=one marketplace(urban center)

-land is relatively flat and of equal quality in all directions from market

-transportation costs are fixed

market: place where goods and services are sold

1st ring

=market garden-

closest to market, perishable products-fruits + vegetables(horticulture), eggs, milk, dairy, dairy cattle

milk shed: region producing milk that may be supplied to area of demand. milk spoils quickly but innovation in 20th century help-refrigeration, pasteurization, and homogenization. before, milk was delivered to homes by milk man.

2nd ring

=forestry

-wood

wood is heavy, and constant supply needed so farers pay more for land in order to reduce shipping cost but will not make as much profit as dairy so pay less for land than those farmers.

3rd ring

=grains

soybeans, field corn, cereal grains

harvested once per year, grain requires lots of land so farmers move further from market in order to pay less for land. crop not perishable and stored for long time after drying and processing. farmers wait until have full load before transporting, maxing transportation spending

4th ring

=grazing

ex. beef cattle

most extensive agricultural land use so need large amounts of land. animals expensive to move(moved alive)

exceptions

-farmers do not always make decisions based on profits

-specialty farming and luxury crops

-does not account for improvements in transportation tech or refrigeration bc these things did not exist when model was made

specialty farming: crops used by ppl for medicinal purposes or aesthetic enjoyment. ex. flowers, landscaping plants, Christmas trees, pumpkins. don’t fit model bc products are marked up and can be sold for high profit and excess cost of transportation passed onto consumer.

luxury crop: grown to sere other purpose other than sustaining. ex. coffee, chocolate, tobacco, tea. consumers wealthy enough to purchase these so farmers can make profit no matter where crop is produced. most come from tropics. to increase profits, producers minimize labor costs, which fueled slave trade.

impact of transportation innovations: affected model bc the advancements reduced cost of transportation enabling farmers to move more products for lower costs, making transportation costs unimportant.

impact of refrigeration: halts ripening process, so lasts longer. milk can be kept in fridge for a couple of weeks. fridges have expanded zones of model

applying model at different scales

isolated state

von thunen’s book(der isolierte straat/isolated state), wrote about an isolated city, set in middle of a uniform plain w/o navigable waterways and bounded by wilderness. this is what his model is based on, meets all assumptions so it doesn’t exist in reality

US scale

applying model at national scale assumes tat there is only one market- in US, it would be New York City

regional scale

-large areas disregarding state boundaries ex Europe, US South