EnviroLink Forum

hey, thanx.

We all know I need as much help as I can get!

I have 16 acres, and I'd say 14 of it is in pasture. I have 4 horses on the pasture, and I still buy 5 tons of hay to make it through the winter.

I have horses, I like horses, but for something like you're doing, I wouldn't have one. They eat far more then they are worth. Unlike a cow, a horse is a mouth with one real long tube inside that comes out the back. It's like they can't push it in the front fast enough to keep up with what's coming out the other end. I'm guessing, but I bet I could pasture 4 or 5 cattle on the same ground as 2 horses. Horses are just plain inefficent when it comes to the usage of food.

There was, and still is, a magazine called Mother Earth News, they also have a web site. I remember 30+ years ago their deal was, self sufficent on 5 acres.

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I don't know what your problem is but I bet its hard to pronounce.

Interesting info on the horses, Hunter. I haven't gotten to livestock yet, so i could very well reach the same conclusion. I'd like horses for plow-work and it certainly sounds like they produce their share of manure. But again; i still fitting the pieces together.

AL; this is mostly for background in my story. I had to know; how 'inclusive' will each community be is such a setting? Will there be a lot of trade, or will every village be it's own little world? I thought it would add a distinct touch if each village had it's own 'flavor' as it were, but I wasn't sure how easy it'd be to do it all without trading between villages. If standing on owns one is too difficult, some trade will have to go on; with each village having a few 'specilties' they can trade with other villages for their 'specials'. But if you're going to have trade, the keep 'green' you have to group those villages not too far apart.

See how involved it gets, LOL?

I am learning something about gardening, though. After beans; I'll probably be looking into the grains. Oh, boy. I can hardly wait.

For me the cow or oxen could do the plow work, and still produce a calf that could be used as food, this way you get double duty from the cow. Plus the cow would be a far more efficent user of food. Having manure is one thing, but eating more then is really needed would be more important.

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I don't know what your problem is but I bet its hard to pronounce.

Iowanic, have you contacted your local office of the Department of Agriculture? Often, this agency has information like that which you are seeking, or can guide you to someone who may be able to help you.

Just a thought .....

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Demand American-Made; Buy ONLY American-Made

Good heavens, I didn't even think of that! And this being Iowa, I bet there's a website.

Not gonna gaurantee this but I seem to remember from a book I read that it's around a pound a foot for green beans.

I think I read it in this book
Living on an Acre
http://www.amazon.com/Living-Acre-Practical-Guide-Self-Reliant/dp/1592281141/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213835850&sr=1-1

This link
http://www.organicgarden.org.uk/growing/grow/plantplan.html
Also has some info on what you may need. But it seems to be more for eating fresh stuff through the season rather than what you would need for a year...you could extrapolate.



Horses will take a bit more land if you want to farm with them. Oxen could be an answer but they will still eat quite a bit and they do not work as fast as horses.
There is no law saying you can't eat the horse offspring.......

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sammyds world

Watch out where the huskies go, don't you eat that yellow snow

I've been earnestly trying to put together everything a small community would need to be self-sufficient.

First conclusion: It's awful hard. Some trade with other small-communities at the minimum.

Second Conclusion: Broccoli is darn close to a miracle food.

It makes a difference where you live and the size and metabolism of the horse. Where I live is relatively wet and the grass tends to be rich, so on land a little lower in the valley than ours -it takes about one acre per horse - about 1.5 for us. But I have to bring some of my horses off grass at night or they will get too fat.

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The madman is not the man who has lost his reason. The madman is the man who has lost everything except his reason. --G.K. Chesterton

This is info i can use. Thanx, Rural.

That's because unlike a cow, they just will not quit eating. They're like a teenage boy, a bottomless pit that can never be filled up.

In all seriousness I do think they eat more then cattle, in part, because naturally they are grazers that do not eat a lot in one sitting, but instead eat all the time. A cow eats, but then a cow will lay and chew it's cud instead of eating more. Maybe it's the 4 stomach thing that makes a difference.

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I don't know what your problem is but I bet its hard to pronounce.

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Talking of horses...

There is a new series started last week on TV about the Greater Manchester Mounted Police. Some of the horses are Clydesdale crosses.
The intro shows a horse and rider...a magnificent sight . Standing perfectly still and very dignified ...magnificent withers........... and the horses aren't that bad either !!




I shall be watching avidly every week !