5.8 Spatial Organization of Agriculture

Von Thünen's Model

Johann Heinrich von Thünen created a model explaining agricultural land use around a central market city based on transportation costs and land rent. As distance from the market increases, land use shifts from intensive, perishable goods (like dairy and vegetables) to more extensive, less perishable activities (like grain and ranching). The model assumes an isotropic plain — flat, uniform land with no variation in soil or climate.

Rings of the Model

Closest to the city: market gardening/dairy (perishable, needs quick transport). Next: forest (for fuel/timber, historically). Then crop farming/grain (less perishable, can be shipped further). Farthest: ranching/livestock (extensive land use, can walk to market). Bid-rent theory underlies this — farmers pay more for land near the market to save transport costs.

Modern Relevance & Limitations

Von Thünen's model still helps explain agricultural location patterns globally and locally (e.g., dairy farms near cities). However, it doesn't account for modern transportation technology, refrigeration, government policy, or global trade, which have reduced the friction of distance. Critics note the model oversimplifies real-world variation in topography, climate, and infrastructure.

Key terms

Von Thünen's Model

A model explaining how agricultural land use is arranged in rings around a central market based on transportation costs.

Isotropic plain

A flat, uniform surface with no variation in soil, climate, or terrain — an assumption of von Thünen's model.

Bid-rent theory

The theory that land near a market has higher rent because it reduces transportation costs for producers.

Order of von Thünen's rings (closest to farthest)

Market gardening/dairy → forest → grain/crops → ranching/livestock.

Limitation of von Thünen's model

It doesn't account for modern transportation, refrigeration, government policy, or global trade, which reduce the friction of distance.

Try an AP-style question

Agribusiness refers to…

1. nomadic herding of livestock
2. small family farms selling locally
3. large corporations running food production
4. subsistence farming for family use