# Needed acerage



## Bewareitcomes (Apr 24, 2011)

I am wondering if anyone here knows how many acres of land one would have to plant with wheat to sustain 10 people and have enough seed left over from the harvest to plant the same the next year?


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Let's say an average of 40 bushel per acre at 50# per bushel = 2000# per acre.

Recommended wheat storage per person per year = 400#
400# x 10 people = 4000#

2 acres per year for 10 people would probably be the minimum I would want.

Planting at a rate of about 150# per acre = 300#

This is just a rough est. off the top of my head.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

here's a table

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2002/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/st99_1_033_033.pdf

a little article

http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/wheat/pdf/WheatProdCosts.pdf

some wishful thinking in continuous yields

MSU News Service - Organic winter wheat topped 100 bushels per acre in Bozeman last harvest

wheat surplus? sure hasn't affected prices any...

Colorado Breaks Record for Yield per Acre in Winter Wheat Production | Colorado Wheat


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## Centraltn (Feb 21, 2011)

Another helpful fact to figure in your calculations... 3 cups of wheat makes a cup and a half of wheat flour. Look for a good simple recipe for wheat bread and figure how much it'd take to make 1-2 loaves every day or two. 
Also cornmeal is needed to make cornbread or corn fritters.. a fried bread..but the meal itself doesnt store well since the corn loses much of its food value as soon as its cracked open- so you will need to store popcorn or a good 'dent' corn. I dont recall the ground cornmeal ya get per cup of whole corn but I bet alot of folks here recall that statistic.


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## BasecampUSA (Dec 26, 2010)

Bewareitcomes said:


> I am wondering if anyone here knows how many acres of land one would have to plant with wheat to sustain 10 people and have enough seed left over from the harvest to plant the same the next year?


If it takes_ the pair of us 3/4 acre to grow enough wheat for a year's supply _and then some as seed to be sown by hand again here on our Maine homestead, 
*it would take about 3-3/4 acres for 10 people*. That's for a good Maine growing season and harvesting by hand in our personal experience years ago to establish a figure. We just started growing it again last year, but some more of it will be spelt and rye in the future.


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## Daegnus (Nov 12, 2010)

Probably good to think about crop rotations as well, depending on your growing methods. So at least double your figured acreage to allow for fallow years or alternate crops.


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