Von Thunen Exercise

By Paul Hawkinson

Part one 1). Three factors that inuence the choice in crop are soil, climate, and food preferences. Soil affects the choice in crops because certain crops grow better in certain soils, and you will be able to maximize prots if you grow a crop in a soil that is good for it. Climate affects choice in crops because certain crops grow better in certain climates. Food preference affects choice in crops because you would want to grow crops that surrounding people like. If you grow a crop that people nearby like, then you will have to pay less to have your vegetables shipped.

2). The connection between dairying to the idea that the commercial farmer needs to have proximity to the market is that dairies need to be close to the city. This is because, in a time without refrigerated cars, the milk could soil if it took too long to get to the city. 3). The two costs that commercial farmers are most concerned with are land costs and transportation cost. 4). Distance to market is so critical according to van Thunen because when he created his model, there were no refrigerators. He bases his zones on how important the crop is to get to market. For example, milk is the closest to the city because it is most at risk for soiling, while vegetables and animals are farther out because they can last longer. 5). A. Transportation is equally possible in all directions- This is important to the model because if there were roads and highways that made transportation from one specic area easier, then the model would be lopsided. B. Transportation costs are directly related to distance- If this was not true the farmers would not have to be as close as possible to the city, therefore the map would be lopsided. C. Homogeneous physical environment- If this were not true, and there were intervening landforms, then the farmers would not be able to grow their crops in certain areas, and therefore skew the model.

6). Intensive farming and dairying is located in the closest ring. This is because it would take the least amount of time for the most important things to reach the city. Forestry is located in the second ring because at the time the model was created, wood was the most common fuel source and is the second most important thing. The third ring is comprised of eld crops. This is because they are important and need the fastest delivery time to market. The last ring is made of ranching because the animals are self transporting.

Part 2 A. A modern agricultural example that follows Van Thunen's model is milk. Even with the invention of refrigeration, milk can and will spoil so supermarkets must get their milk from generally local sources.

B. A modern agricultural product that does not follow van Thunen's model is wheat. With trucks and planes, we can manage to ship wheat all over the world, so the distance from market has less of an impact. C. As a whole, modern agribusiness does not support van Thunen's model. With the invention of refrigeration and a means of fast transportation, crops can be shipped worldwide without the need to factor in the crop dying. Although, certain parts are supported for example, milk can not remain edible after a certain amount of time.

Collaborative assignment R = E (p - a) - E f k

Crop

2m

4m

6m

8m

10 m

Cotton

.25

100

.60

.03

29

23

17

11

Wheat

.45

125

.65

.02

20

15

10

Dairy .25

200

.55

.04

44

28

12

-4

-20

Corn

.20

300

.30

.01

24

18

12

Vegeta bles

.20

200

.70

.10

60

20

-20

-60

-100

Reection I liked how the assignment not only had us read out of our book, but it had us read an outside article about the subject. I felt that the article that was included with the assignment gave a more in depth view of the subject, and I felt that it taught about the model well. The only thing that was confusing about the assignment was the group portion because it was hard to understand what it was asking for. Overall, I feel comfortable about the Van Thunen model.