Transcript Agricultural Revolutions

Von Thunen and Agricultural
Revolutions
The Von Thünen Model
• The Von Thünen
model of agricultural
land use was created
by German farmer and
amateur economist
J.H. Von Thünen.
• His model was created
before
industrialization

• The Von Thünen model is
an excellent illustration of
the balance between land
cost and transportation
costs.
As one gets closer to a city,
the price of land increases.
The farmers of the Isolated State
balance the
cost of transportation, land,
and profit
and produce the most costeffective product for market.
 In the real world, things don't
happen as they would in a
model.
In this ‘Isolated State’ Von Thünen hypothesized that the
following pattern would develop:

Four rings of agricultural
activity surrounding the
city.
• o
1. 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 in the ‘milkshed’ area
(remember, we don't have refrigerated
oxcarts!)

2. Timber and firewood
would be produced for fuel
and building materials in
the second zone.
• o
Before industrialization (and
coal power), wood 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.

3. The third zone
consists of extensive
fields crops such as
grains for bread.
• o
Since grains last longer
than dairy products and are much
lighter than fuel, reducing
transport costs, they can be
located further from the city.
•  4. Ranching is located
in the final ring
surrounding the central
city.
• o
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.

5. Beyond the
fourth ring lies the
unoccupied wilderness,
(hinterland) which is too
great a distance from the central
city for any type of agricultural
product.
VT’s model is based on the following
limiting assumptions

The city is located centrally
within an "Isolated State"
which is self sufficient and has
no external influences.

The Isolated State is
surrounded by an unoccupied
wilderness.

The land of the State is
completely flat and has no
rivers or mountains to
interrupt the terrain.

The soil quality and climate are
consistent throughout the State.

Farmers in the Isolated State
transport their own goods to market
via oxcart, across land, directly to
the central city. Therefore, there are
no roads.

Farmers act to maximize profits.
NOW….
Can you answer the FRQ???
Agricultural Revolutions
First Agricultural Revolution
 Dates back 10,000 years
 Carl Sauer (cultural landscape) said that
“experiments were necessary to establish agriculture
in land of plenty. “
 This marked the beginning of plant and animal
domestication
Plant Domestication
 Tropical plants in SE and S Asia were the first
plants to be domesticated
 The combination of human settlements, forests,
and fresh water led to vegetative planting, or root
crops

Included cassava, yams, and sweet potatoes
Seed Crops
 The planned cultivation of seed crops is a more
complex process including seed selection, stowing,
watering, and well-timed harvesting
 The first seed domestication might have taken
place in the Fertile Crescent
 It could have also happened in the Nile River
Valley...
Changes with Plant Domestication
1.
2.
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4.
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Plants change because people choose seeds from
the largest, healthiest plants
People began to plant on river plains, leading to
planned irrigation
Provided a reliable food source
Grain Surplus
Permanent settlement resulted
Led to population increase
Animal Domestication
 Happened 8,000 years ago, after plant cultivation
 Goats, pigs, and sheep were the first animals to be
domesticated (aka: they won’t kill you while you
sleep)
 Began as pets, led to a food and labor source
Evolution of Domesticated Animals
 As animals became domesticated, they became
smaller and less vicious
 Domesticated horses are very different from their
wild counterparts
 Animals (like camels) were domesticated in different
places at the same time
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Only 40% of animals can be domesticated
Most popular domesticated animals: cow, sheep, goat, pig, and
horse
Second Agricultural Revolution
 Began after the Industrial Revolution during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe
 New crops came into Europe from North America,
including corn and potatoes

The soil in Western Europe was great for the new crops
 The governments also passed legislation encouraging
new agricultural pursuits
Enclosure Act
 Great Britain passed the Enclosure Act which
encouraged consolidation of fields into single-family
farms
 Farmers increased the size of their farms, fenced
their farms, and practiced crop rotation
New Technologies
 Thanks to the Industrial Revolution, new machinery
was introduced to make farms more productive
 The seed drill allowed farmers to plant in rows,
without wasting seeds
 An increase in productivity allowed farmers to feed
more, allowing more people to work in the secondary
sector
Additional Information
 Advances in technology allowed railroads to move
crops over a greater distance
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The railroad changed the landscape of the US from prairie to
family farms
The railroads also sought immigrants to help build
 The internal combustible engine led to the invention
of tractors, combines, and other large farm
equipment

Advancements in banking allowed financing for farmers
The Third Revolution (Green Revolution)
 Dates back to the 1930’s when farmers in the
American Midwest began experimenting with seeds
to increase crop production
 In the 1940’s, they experimented with Mexican
maize, and by 1960, Mexico no longer needed to
import corn
 The revolution shifted to India where a Philippine
rice cross-bred with a Chinese rice, producing IR8
The Evolution of IR8
 IR8 was a heartier crop than either of its parents, but
researchers were not satisfied
 By 1982, they produced IR36 from 13 parents
 It has a genetic resistance against 15 pests, and a 110
day growing cycle, allowing for three crop yields a
year.
 By 1994, scientists developed an even more
productive strain of rice
Green Revolution in LDCs
 Today, most famine is caused by political instability,
not environmental conditions

India and most of Asia can produce enough rice and grain to
feed their populations
 Africa struggles to embrace the Green Revolution
 They have not yet adopted the technology (including
fertilizer, irrigation, and capital improvements), and
see little foreign investment
The US Today
 Today, researchers have used technology gained in
the Green Revolution to fatten livestock quicker, and
improve the appearance of fruit
The downside
 Over a billion people in the world are malnourished
 The Green Revolution has produced high crop yields
 However, some people have an issue with eating
genetically modified and chemically treated food

GMO are in 75% of all processed foods!
 The Green Revolution has not helped intensive
subsistence farmers

In many LDC’s, the family farmer has been put out of business
by agribusiness