[ATE] Farming example

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by (E)

(SNIP)

The refinery is coming. I am wondering if I have to rewatch the movie first though

I'm not sure you do. I looked at the clips from the film that showed the inside of the compound, and wrote down what I saw, in there. George Miller definitely didn't give much thought about survival needs, and everybody is clear that they only meant to remain long enough to refine the fuel they needed to reach the Northern Territory (or at least, "to the North"). There was one scene, in the garage, which showed a bunch of bags stacked against a wall, but that looked like concrete more than oats, or anything.

That said, it's a great film and any possible excuse to see it, again, is a good one. :)

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

That said, it's a great film and any possible excuse to see it, again, is a good one. :)

What tshiggins said. there is no real indication of "What Do They Eat?" because that wasn't even a consideration for the film.

[(E)]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

What tshiggins said. there is no real indication of "What Do They Eat?" because that wasn't even a consideration for the film.

I was thinking the farm was very well concealed. ;)

[(E)]

Broken Hill

Assumptions
- Very poor soil, deficient in phosphorous.
- No water retention.
- Difficult to fully clean the water.
- Population 30-40

Resources
- Power
- fuel
- Refinery
- water (dirty)

Notes
Arenosol soil is the soil type found in the area of the outback known as Broken Hill it is generally considered too nutritionally poor for any agricultural purposes. It is rapidly depleted of nutritional value by “hungry” food crops. The soil also has a low ability to hold water and irrigation is less efficient here than elsewhere.
Aside from filtering through the local soil, continual water purification uses resources that broken hill can not replace.

Crops
A variation of the colder climates greenhouse trenches is used to meet the needs of broken hill's community. A trench Shade house is used instead. The use of porous material to cover the plants reduces the water requirements and reduces the amount of sunlight they receive. A variation of the the three sisters system is used in rotation with oats then garden vegetables. The three sisters mix is used just prior to the fallow period and the leftover organic matter is composted into the soil in an attempt to improve water retention. These shade house trenches are colored to match the surrounding dessert and are only accessible by tunnel. Prickly pear has a potentially useful degreasing property that might be used to improve the performance of different water filters.

Livestock
Pigs and chickens. These animals are used to turn wasted and surplus food into protein for later consumption. Under ideal conditions the pigs will manage a 10-20% return. Pigs do best with very clean water (Similar tastes to a human child, Cola is their drink of choice).

Camels graze the scrubby surrounds and are brought in by vehicular round-up. While dairy is possible they are used for meat.

Produces
- Fuel

Requires
- Food
- Fertilizer, phosphorus and nitrogen particularly.
- Water purification components, wool and hair can be used.

Crunch
With soil conditions like those in the real Broken Hill the yields of the crops would be quite low. With three crops a year they would require twelve hectares in crops. This is too much space so lets assume that the refinery had something in its past that allowed it to improve a small portion of the space they use for crops. One hectare of good soil would produce eight times as much food. People are desperate though so lets say there is only two hectares in production and add potatoes into the mix and twenty four people (ish) could be supported.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by (E)

Broken Hill

(SNIP)

Nicely done, sir!

[(E)]

Feral livestock
Three main outcomes are possible for feral animals. The population explodes, the animals die out or the least likely option is they fill a niche in the local ecosystem. Secondary production (wool, milk, eggs etc) will reduce dramatically in feral genetics. A recent period when feral animal populations had a chance to flourish was during WW2.

Cattle
Feral cattle would be decendants of modern beef and dairy breeds. Historically there are examples of small isolated populations (10-30 animals) remaining viable for more than 80 years. They seem to prefer light forest and scrub as it provides some cover. Pure dairy genetics would have the least chance of survival for various reproduction related issues. One feature with feral cattle is that they hide surprising well. The biggest cattle could be slightly larger than listed in basic. Mustering feral cattle for sale to the meat industry is a practice that exists today.

Pigs
Feral pigs can experience massive population growth rates. An excellent sense of smell makes them likely survivors. They are difficult to trap and good at getting through barriers. Easily domesticated if caught young. Higher fat production in feral genetics when domesticated.

Sheep
There are several recessive genetic traits in sheep that become more common when the population isn't managed. Feral sheep will stop being white after not too many generations. Molting breeds may dominate the genetics in cases with multiple breeds.

Goats
Generally feral goats do quite well. They can be domesticated but ex-feral animals require good fencing. Browsers not grazers.

Other animals
- Chickens, mainly heritage breeds
- Ducks, may interbreed with wild populations.
- Deer

[(E)]

A place to call home, hungry season

Summary
The end of winter through the start of spring is known in some places as the hungry season as this is when food supplies are at the shortest. It is also a busy time of year when crops are being planted. The group has to plant the seeds they have gathered.

Notes
- most of the seed the group has will be used to create more seed rather than feed them.
- hybrids are the byproduct of two different breeds of the same species, they exhibit something called "hybrid vigor". The following generations are more of a genetic lottery. There are many differing opinions on how bad these post hybridization genetics are especially in plants, for the sake of gaming five or six generations of selective breeding will result in a stable breed.
- best guess is that re-bred hybrid varieties will get to 75% of the first generations yield. This is after a few (plant) generations of selective breeding.
- various issues to do with the timing of crops that I am ignoring as many are location and End specific.

Stage 1, germinate seed.
The four types of seed the group has are local weeds, stored pre-End seed, feral heirloom seed and seed from hybrid descendants. The group will be taking the utmost care to get these plants to grow.

Stage 2
The germinated seed will be planted out into the raised garden after it has had a light dose of urea to encourage early plant growth. Blood and bone fertilizer may have been made from the feral bull.

Projects
- fencing the area where crops are going to be grown.
- An electric fence will take 22lbs of wire per strand used to get around the perimeter of the cleared ground. Car parts, a battery, improvised insulators and a solar panel will complete the requirements.
- alternatively split timber (as apposed to cut timber) will suffice.
- Build a germination tray/ shelter for seedlings. Clear plastic or glass will help.
- preparing the ground for planting, only a small amount of seed exists to the group so this is a small task.
- Clear another 5 hectares of trees.

Yields (if successful)
- a small garden with, shallots and squash, the squash would be planted above last year's long drop toilet.
- a garden with tomatoes and spinach with variable results in the first year, improving with each successive year.
- whatever seed manages to germinate from the old packets. For the sake of the example, a few beans, some radishes and a north Atlantic pumpkin. The group will be able to eat none of these in the first year as they will be saving the seed. (The pumpkin is a fodder variety good for cows and pigs). Aside from the pumpkin they are all hybrid varieties.
- if lucky the group (6) will produce close to 5% of their food needs. Double that when their seed production is stabilized.
- Numerous poplar poles are planted as a buffer against polluted run off. Poplars as well as a number of other species have the ability to absorb some pollutants. The process is called phytoremediation, it is also used in bacterial filtration for heavy metals. Some aspects are covered in Pyramid 3-90
- The fruit trees will be ready to plant at a year old.

Wants
- More seed, staple crops especially
- Power and power tools will make things a lot easier
- A caretaker,

Questions
- Will the food stores last? (No, go hunt something dangerous)
- Can the group expand the current production so that it is fully self sufficient? (No, A big journey is required to find better crops to plant)
- Is that barge that washed up on the riverbank water tight? (yes, but it is occupied)

Challenges
- germinating seed (farming, gardening, botany)
- preparing the soil (gardening, farming)
- getting the timing right, plant too soon and a late frost can wipe out the crops. (Farming, meteorology, ground thermometer)
- building fence ( farming, carpentry, architecture)
- Build a stump puller (engineer, machinist)
- Find sources for fertilizer elements (geology and farming to know what to get)

[(E)]

A place to call home, decisions

Having a source of soil enriching minerals available (potassium, phosphorus and sulfur) will mean the efficiency of food production is higher allowing more time and energy to be spent on defenses, developments and adventuring. Potassium and phosphorus rich earth could feasibly be found locally while sulfur is more likely to be found in volcanic areas. Sulfur has enough industrial uses for stockpiles to exist.

At this point the group has two main options regarding the development of the proto-farm. The first is the slower approach where the farm remains more of a support camp. The main drawback is that to get close to self sufficient a large area will have to he cleared and more time will be required to produce food. The second option is to actively seek out a staple crop (potatoes, maize, grains) and livestock and improve the efficiency.

Option one would seem to head in the direction of a hidden hide away/foraging camp that won't quite support those who live there. It would potentially be a good wintering ground depending on the style of game. (It would likely support one person per hectare of cleared land.)

Option two looks to have more opportunity for a defend and develop game so that's the option I am going to explore.

With this in mind the group will need to acquire a few things to get the future farm started. A main crop is the highest thing on the list when survival is at stake. The length of the list is based on how much they can carry.
So the group goes off and has an epic adventure and comes back with their barge(or truck) laden with loot.

The Haul

The group had managed to get hold of potatoes, maize, beans, chickpeas and turnips. These are epic treasures AtE.

The also have the start of a Herb garden, flax, hemp, grass seed and some seedlings for more trees.

Equipment wise they have gotten hold of a generator, some more solar panels, a gantry, a large winch, and numerous electric motors and tools.

Raw materials are also included in their haul. Depending on the style of game an NPC or two might be added to the group to manage the farm while the rest of the party are out and about. These NPC's could also be a precursor of later expansion.

Why these things?
Having high yielding food crops means there are surpluses of not just food but time, space and labour. There are nitrogen fixers in the mix, beans and chickpeas. Having these is the basis of a crop rotation, which will be critical for maintaining the soil long term in term of nutrients and parasite/blight management. Turnips are included for an additional rotation slot, they are also an ideal fodder crop for sheep, cows, chickens (cooked first) and pigs. Hemp and flax are going to the main sources of fiber for clothing and rope/string and even paper.

The herb garden serves as a source for numerous useful plants it can feasibly supply; insect repellents, pain killers, antiseptics, flavourings, inks, weapons and even base chemicals.

The equipment is selected for labour saving reasons, a centrally located winch can be used for moving all the trees and rocks once they have been felled, modified slightly it can be used to pull stumps. Making a rototiller will be a huge labour saver too. On a larger scale disc harrows, disc plows, plows and a variety of other tillage machinery will be desired. The soil will ideally broken up once deeply to improve drainage then broken up further (at this stage lime/sulfur, compost or gypsum might be added to condition the soil) and one final pass will be made to prepare the seed bed. This is a lot of work, especially when breaking in new ground.

Tasks
If it is early enough in the year the the group will plant the crops in the space they have available. Seed goes off, so it is best used sooner rather than later. They will want to clear a hectare of trees to start the crop rotation and an addition hectare a year until they have five and a half hectare clear. This assumes that there will be some livestock in the future.

Timber may be stock piled until the group has time to build a sawmill or a portable mill. The logs may also be used to make a palisade.

Potatoes would most likely serve as a main crop due to yield, 2 tonnes of seed potatoes are required for each hectare planted, The yields are up to the GM at the end of the day, with excellent inputs and climate and low parasites/viruses etc 60-80 tonnes per hectare are possible (In theory). At TL 5 13 tonnes in new ground is possible. 20 tonnes seems reasonable with low inputs and regular rotation.

Garden plants would follow the potatoes, then possibly three sisters plantings or a crop of maize then a bean crop depending on variety. It would then be grazed off by ruminant animals and given a full fallow year before being used as part of the grazing system. This system when fully operational uses 5.5 hectares of land (20 acres ish) and produces enough food for 30 people, in other words the initial group of 6 plus a family for each of them. This system would include livestock.

It will take several years for the groups farm to upscale to this size, 20kgs of potatoes would take three crops with nothing being eaten to produce enough seed potatoes for a hectare. Production wise 3 tonnes per hectare seems reasonable for cereals, beans 4 tonnes maybe.

Any suggestions, questions or ideas about the group's farm?
If not, animals and fodder crops will be in the next section.

System components
- Main crop, potatoes
- Cereal crop, maize
- Vegetable garden
- Nitrogen fixer; beans, chickpeas
- Grazing crop, grass
- Fodder crops, turnips, pumpkin
- Support crops, Hemp, flax
- Orchards

Sorry if these posts get a bit off track, it is a very broad subject.

[Polydamas]

Thanks for keeping this "how stuff works" going! Writing a long series of posts like this is not easy.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Polydamas

Thanks for keeping this "how stuff works" going! Writing a long series of posts like this is not easy.

Agreed. I've been copypasting them into a worddoc and saving them.

Just in case PK happens to another thread! ;)