Johann Heinrich Von Thunen
McKenzie Hardesty----5th Hour----March 13th, 2016
Background Information
Von Thunen was born on June 24, 1783 and died on September 22, 1850. He spent his life in Germany where he attended two agricultural colleges in Gross-Flottbek and in Celle. After college he purchased an estate. With this land, he farmed using his own techniques. He wrote treatises on agronomy (the science of farming methods) and in 1826 he published his most famous book based off of techniques he discovered. The title is "The Isolated State with Respect to Agriculture and Political Economy" and included is the Von Thunen model. There were two more volumes published later. Von Thunen was recognized as an authority in the fields of agronomy and economics and was honored in many ways.
The Von Thunen Model
Model Explanation:
The Von Thunen model is used to show how market processes can determine how different areas of land are used. It was created before industrialization and he assumed that the city was isolated with no external influences, the land was flat with no mountains or rivers, and the soil and climate were the same throughout the state. The model consists of 4 zones that each have a different purpose. In zone 1 you would have the perishable foods because transportation was expensive and they would need to quickly get the foods to markets to sell. Some examples would be dairy products, fruits, and vegetables. In zone 2 you would have forest land that serves as an energy source. People would use the wood for heating and cooking. The lumber is heavy and difficult to transport, so it needed to be close to the city. In zone 3 you would have field crops such as grains, corn, and beans. Since they are lighter than the wood, they make transporting easier and can last longer and be farther away from the city. In zone 4 you would have ranching for cows and sheep. They can be raised far from the city because they can transport themselves. Beyond zone 4 is unoccupied because it's too far from the city for any agriculture.