re: Society breaks down and you have to make it in a subsistence agriculture situation

Let’s say you grow rice. A very very crappy stand of rice might yield 5 barrels per acre. Like I’d imagine most people who could survive long enough to harvest a crop following an apocalyptic type event could achieve this. What else would you have to do?

That’s 500lb of rice on 1 acre. So depending on how fat you are, do the math.

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That’s 500lb of rice on 1 acre. So depending on how fat you are, do the math.

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Anyone farming a whole acre of rice by hand and by themselves isn't going to be fat for long.

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Anyone farming a whole acre of rice by hand and by themselves isn't going to be fat for long.

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That's what I was thinking. frick that noise I'll stick to my little food forest.

makes you wonder why the Chinese aren’t fat huh?

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Societal breakdown means there will be plenty of farmland around as people kill each other.

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I doubt that. The killing won't be happening in rural flyover country. It'll be in the major urban population centers and suburbs, and those idiots will be too busy fighting over the scraps in grocery stores to bother trying to go out in the country to farms for food. .

There’s a lot of factors like number of people you are feeding and what kind of preserving abilities you have access to.

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Man you better have a green thumb to live off that acreage.

In the old days if someone tried to live off that plot of land they would also be bartering their services to others in exchange for additional food to supplement. IE trade your carpentry work for eggs if you didn’t keep chickens.

If you want to live as an island with 1 acre that would be very difficult.

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I produced over 100 lbs of vegetables on about 250 sq ft last year. Unless you are throwing beef/pork into your agricultural operation, you could do alright on an acre. I have 2 blueberry bushes, 6 strawberry plants, 2 blackberries, and 2 garden plots on MAYBE 500 sq ft. Am I going to live off of that? Not entirely. But it's a pretty good start. Add meat from hunting and fishing, and some fruit/greens/mushrooms from foraging, and I can provide a good chunk of the food for my family of 4.

ETA: Now, more acres is definitely better to produce your own meat, but not necessary if you can hunt and fish.

All these would be farmers.

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Another good resource is foraging guides

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My wife is still irritated that it takes us forever to walk through Congaree Swamp because of this.

It's not MY fault the place is loaded with pawpaws....