UNIT 5 LESSON 5

LEARNING OBJECTIVE Understanding how cost impacts where things are grown.

COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE Commercial Agriculture:Element of 2nd Agricultural RevolutionFarmers & Ranchers sell output for money Money used to buy stuff at stores

INTENSIVE COMMERCIAL FARMINGIntensive Commercial FarmingDairy Farming Close to market (spoils)Milk, Cheese, and Butter

Truck FarmingDon’t be misled! Truck farming originally meant “bartering”

Products that are sold fresh to customersApples, cherries, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

Rely heavily on machinery and fertilizers

EXTENSIVE COMMERCIAL FARMINGExtensive Commercial FarmingLivestock ranchingCommercial grazing of livestock over an extensive areaLocated in western U.S. (but decreasing)Pampas (prairie) of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay Most meat exported to industrialized countries

EXTENSIVE COMMERCIAL FARMING CONT.

Extensive Commercial Farming Cont.Grain FarmingU.S. is most important We have two harvest areas (World’s Breadbasket)Winter wheat area: Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma (ripens in summer)

Spring Wheat area: WashingtonWork is concentrated during harvest and planting

VON THUNEN’S MODEL OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE

I’m an 18th century German Farmer.

My theory is based off of flat terrain and uniform soil with no significant barriers to transportation to market.

I put a ring on it…..Von Thunen Rings!!

Actually 4 Rings!Ring 1: Market Gardening & DairyRing 2: ForestRing 3: Field CropsRing 4: Animal Grazing

My rings reflect the need to apply intensive agriculture methods for high-value and perishable crops in the first ring. In the 1st ring, land is subdivided in small lots, it’s valuable. It’s market gardening and dairy

My 2nd Ring is forest…..Fire! Fire!!!…we still burned wood in my day…and it’s bulky.

My 3rd Ring was used for crops that were less perishable (they last longer) and include wheat and other grains.

My 4th ring is for animal grazing, which requires a lot of space. Outside of this ring is “wilderness” which is where it becomes unprofitable to farm because of the distance to market.

‘sup Thunen

I made this theory to explain how the spatial character of economic activity.I wanted to identify the interplay of transportation costs and value of the products on rural land use. I had to balance distance, weight, when things perished.

RANDOM SIDE GAME: http://en.educaplay.com/en/learningresources/1173680/

von_thunen.htm

It’s a Von Thunen Matching game to help you practice the rings.