Geographers, today's the day. Today we review one of the most important models of this unit. Remember, if you find value in these topic review videos, consider subscribing. In this video, we'll be reviewing von Thunen's model of land use, which looks at how land is utilized for society. Von Tunin first proposed this model in 1826. When creating the model, Von Tunin used a couple of different assumptions.
This was to allow the model to be used in a variety of different situations. The model assumes that all land is flat, that there is one single market, that all- land has equal access to the market, that farmers want to maximize their profit, and that all of the land has similar site characteristics. Now before you go commenting down below and pointing out that in the real world the physical landscape and climate will vary or how there is more than one market, remember models are not perfect representations of the world.
But before we talk about how this model has shifted or what parts of the model are still true and what parts of the model are not, we need to understand the model itself. At the center of von Thunen's model we have the market. This is where agricultural products are sold.
As we move outward from the market and into the first ring we find dairy farming and horticulture. This is next to the market because these goods are perishable. Remember von Thunen created this model before the creation of cars and modern-day refrigeration. Products that had a short shelf life had to get to the market quickly.
The next ring is the forest which today doesn't really make sense anymore but at the time lumber was used to build homes, heat homes, and cook food. Lumber was essential. for society and is very heavy and bulky, which makes it difficult and costly to transport. By having it closer to the market, people could get the lumber quicker. Plus, it helped keep the cost of transporting the lumber down.
And this brings me to a really important point. Von Thunen's model is all about maximizing profit. Remember the bid-rent theory, which we talked about earlier in this unit?
It is one of the driving forces behind this model. Remember, the bid-rent theory states that land costs more the closer you get to an urban area, or in this case, a market. The farther away you get, you are from the market, the cheaper land is.
Which means that we are more likely to see intensive commercial agriculture near the city or market and more extensive commercial agriculture away from the city. Besides the amount of land and the cost of it, we also have to factor in the cost of transporting goods. Remember, farmers want to maximize their profit. So if, for example, a product like lumber is too expensive to transport, it makes more sense to have that located closer to the market to save on transportation costs. To make sure you're understanding.
this, let's look at a hypothetical situation. Pretend that you are a farmer who is looking to figure out where to locate your farm. If you locate 10 miles away from the market, land will cost you $100 a month.
If you locate 20 miles away, it'll only be $80 a month. 30 miles away, $25 a month, or 40 miles away and $10 a month. Right now, you can sell your product for $200 a unit. Now, you might think, well, I should locate my farm 40 miles away from the market, so I only have to spend $10 a month on the land and maximize my profit.
But if you already thought this you would have forgotten to factor in transportation costs. If we look at transportation costs, we can see that if you locate 40 miles away, it'll actually cost you $200 to transport your product to the market, essentially wiping out all of your profits. Plus, not to mention, we didn't even account for other production costs such as labor, fertilizer, water, electricity, and so forth. In the end, it would be best for you to locate 20 miles away from the city where you only have to pay $20 for transportation and $80 for land.
Thus maximizing your income. your possible profit. Now of course there are other factors that go into deciding where to locate different agricultural practices.
But hopefully now you can see how the cost of land and transportation impact these decisions. Now going back to von Thunen's model, we can see that the next ring is grains and field crops. These crops require a lot of land to grow, so farmers can save money by being farther away from the market, taking advantage of cheaper land prices. Plus these crops are relatively cheap to transport since they're lightweight and do not need to be sold.
to be consumed immediately or refrigerated. Lastly, there's the livestock ring, which consists of ranching and livestock. Traditionally, livestock requires a lot of land in order to graze, which would be difficult and expensive to get near a market.
Now you might be thinking to yourself, well, wait a minute, if farmers are trying to maximize their profits, wouldn't transporting meat be expensive? It's perishable and it's definitely not the lightest thing to transport. So why would livestock not be located with dairy production near the market?
To be fair, it's a good question. That has a a couple of different answers. The first being that farmers can help offset some of the transportation costs with the savings they get from cheaper land.
Ranching requires so much land that farmers end up saving more money by locating on cheap land that's farther away and less desirable compared to locating on land that's closer to the market, which would make the business unprofitable due to the cost of land alone. The second is that livestock can walk to the market. Cattle would be taken from the outer ring and walked to the market or slaughterhouse. This saves on transportation costs and allows for the processing of the meat to occur near the market where it can be transported quickly for sale.
Now if we do move past the last ring of von Thunen's model, we get to the wilderness, where there wouldn't be any commercial agriculture. This is due to the fact that it's too far away from the market that it wouldn't be able to generate a profit. Today we can see that many parts of von Thunen's model still work with society.
However, some parts of the model have started to change. The forest is no longer located in the second ring of the model and has been replaced with other crop production. This is partially due to shifts in society's needs and also due to advancements in transportation, which reduce the cost of transporting certain goods. We've also seen shifts in the production of livestock due to CAFOs, industrial farms, and agro businesses, which often pack animals into feedlots. thus reducing the amount of land needed to raise livestock.
All of which changes the costs that are associated with the production of food. We can also see changes in the model due to trade and globalization. Advancements in technology, communication, and transportation have allowed cities and states to trade with people across not only a country, but the world.
All of which has allowed for companies to create large commodity chains. and global supply chains that allow producers to achieve economies of scale. This has not only changed our daily diets, but our traditions and cultural landscape as well. But despite these changes to von Thunen's model, we still give von Thunen credit for being one of the first people to realize the spatial layout that exists in society. Well, just like that, another topic review video is done.
Now comes the time to practice what we have learned. Answer the questions on the screen, and when you're done, check your answers in the comment section down below or the description of this video. And if you found value in this video, consider subscribing, and check out my Ultimate Review Packet or Discord server for more help with your AP Human Geography studies. As always, I'm Mr. Syn, and I will see you next time online.