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Von Thünen
Model
AP Human Geography
Mr. Blanchard
The Von Thünen model of agricultural land
use was created by farmer and amateur
economist J.H. Von Thünen of Germany. He
believed farmers were ‘economic men.”
His model was created before industrialization and is based on
the following 6 limiting assumptions:
Background
The Von Thünen model of agricultural land, created before
industrialization, made the following simplifying
assumptions:
The city is located centrally within an "Isolated State."
The Isolated State is surrounded by wilderness.
The land is completely flat and has no rivers or
mountains.
Background
Soil quality and climate are consistent.
Farmers in the Isolated State transport their own goods to
market via oxcart, across land, directly to the central
city. There are no roads.
Farmers behave rationally to maximize profits.
Von Thünen's model is concerned with land use patterns.
Transport costs vary with the bulkiness and perishability of the product.
Product A is costly to transport but has a high market price and is therefore
farmed near the city.
Product B sells for less but has lower transport costs. At a certain distance, B
becomes more profitable than A because of its lower transport costs.
Eventually, product C, with still lower transport costs, becomes the most
profitable product. The changing pattern of the most profitable produce is
therefore seen as a series of land use rings around the city.
This phenomenon may be illustrated by a graph showing the varying
locational rent of three products, the most profitable product at each point,
and the land use pattern which results.
Use a blank sheet of paper
Place each “product”
where you think it would
go and explain why.
In no particular order, you
products and locations are :
Intensive agriculture
Livestock Ranching
City
Forest Resources
Grain Farming
Dairy
Your group will locate each of the following in the ring
that you think will maximize its efficiency. Explain
your reasoning for each of your choices.
In an Isolated State with the foregoing statements being true, Von
Thünen hypothesized that the following pattern would develop:
There are four rings of
agricultural activity
surrounding the city.
Central City
Intensive farming/dairy
Managed forest
Extensive field crops
(grains)
Ranching/grazing
–Dairying and intensive farming
occur in the ring closest to the city.
Since vegetables, fruit, milk and
other dairy products must get to
market quickly, they would be
produced close to the city
(remember, we don't have
refrigerated oxcarts!)
Forest resources (Timber and
firewood) would be produced
for fuel and building materials
in the second zone.
Before industrialization (and coal
power), wood (forest) was a very
important fuel for heating and
cooking. Wood is very heavy and
difficult to transport so it is
located as close to the city as
possible.
Central City
Intensive farming/dairy
Managed forest
Extensive field crops
(grains)
Ranching/grazing
The third zone consists of
extensive fields crops
such as grains for bread.
Since grains last longer
than dairy products and are
much lighter than fuel,
reducing transport costs,
they can be located further
from the city.
Central City
Intensive farming/dairy
Managed forest
Extensive field crops
(grains)
Ranching/grazing
Ranching (livestock
farming) is located in the
final ring surrounding the
central city.
–Animals can be raised far
from the city because they
are self-transporting.
Animals can walk to the
central city for sale or for
butchering.
Central City
Intensive farming/dairy
Managed
forest
/Grazing
Dairy
Extensive
field crops
(grains)
Ranching/grazing
Beyond the fourth ring lies
the unoccupied
wilderness, which is too
great a distance from the
central city for any type
of agricultural product.
Central City
Intensive farming/dairy
Managed forest
Extensive field crops
(grains)
Ranching/grazing
It doesn’t always look the same:
The Von Thünen model is an
excellent illustration of the balance
between land costs and
transportation costs.
This is also the basis for the
“bid rent” theory.
As one gets closer to a city, the price of land
increases.
The farmers of the Isolated State balance the
costs of transportation, land, and profit and
produce the most cost-effective product for
market.
So……….
1. Dairying and gardening of fruits and vegetables
would be closer to the urban market while…
2. Timber and firewood for fuel and building materials
would be in the second zone.
3. Mixed farming, commercial grain and orchards
and
4. Extensive cattle ranching would be located farther
away. Transportation is cheap: the animals can
walk to the city for butchering.
Why?
Some products spoiled more quickly, needed
more sensitive transportation, or generate higher
prices at market
These products mean the
farmer can afford higher land
rent.
The Von Thünen Model
…applying von Thunen’s
basic assumptions
…von Thunen’s model with
Variations in climate factored
in--the north is colder than the
South.
It’s all about cost & proximity
R=Y(p-c)-YFm
RINGS:
R=Y(p-c)-YFm
1. Market-oriented gardens & dairy
R
= land
rent;
• Most
expensive
land, products (delivery cost), and
(no unit
shelf life)
Y very
= perishable
yield per
of land;
2. Wood lots
p
= market
price
per
• Timber
for construction
and
fuel unit of
• Must commodity
be close because of weight of freight
3. Crops and Pasture
c
= production
expenses
per unit of
• Commodities
are rotated
annually
4. Animal grazing
commodity;
• Requires the most space
5. Beyond
fourth ring
lies the
wilderness
F = thefreight
rate
(per
agricultural unit,
• Distance from the city is too great a distance from the
per mile);
central city for any type of agricultural product.
m = distance to market.
PRO’S AND CONS
PROS
CONS
Assumes all land is uniform (quality)
Organized typical land
organization (what was being Doesn’t account for
practiced)
topographical features (hills, rivers,
etc.)
Perfect world only
• Cost changes with land or water
Developed for small regional
transportation
focus w/single market center
but is easily applicable at the Doesn’t consider social customs or
national or global scale
government policies and
influences