Hi Jerome >I've been a lurker for quite some time, and now I have a question: > > >The old standard for self sufficiency after the US Civil War was 40 >acres and a mule for freed slaves.
That's a lot. "Five Acres and Independence", they say, "Three Acres and Liberty". If it was Chinese, there'd be eight farms supporting 40 people and hundreds of animals. Try this: "Three Acres And Liberty" by Bolton Hall, 1907, Macmillan - full text online: http://www.soilandhealth.org/03sovereigntylibrary/0302%20homestedlibra ry/030203/030203mainframe.html Then lie back and consider what luxury is yours with an entire 40 acres! >Back to the future: Most farms in >the USA use diesel tractors...the question is, how much bio-diesel can >40 acres produce? Lots - yield tables here: http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html >Would I need more than 40 acres for livestock, >crops, crop rotation, and allowing for letting fields lie fallow? >nWhich is the most efficient crop to grow for bio-diesel? Hemp? >Rapeseed? Other? Don't let fields lie fallow, use a grass ley system and grazing animals to make a good profit while regenerating the land for years of successive crops. Here's the best system, full text online, a real classic: http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010128elliot/010128toc.html Also, don't necessarily go for the oil crop with the highest yield, there are lots of other factors to consider - how it fits your cropping system, what other uses it has, by-products, crop waste values (fodder, mulch, compost material, biogas feedstock etc.). Consider the whole plant, the whole system, the whole farm. Best Keith Addison Journey to Forever Handmade Projects Tokyo http://journeytoforever.org/ >Thanks in advance. :-) > >Jerome (Dragonfly) Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
