How Much Land is Necessary to Be Self Reliant

[brownhounds]

Being realistic......If stuff hit the fan....how many acres would a man need in order to provide for a family of 4-5? The land would need water......

But..to grow food for your family and your animals....how many acres could get it done?

Keep in mind...you might need a working mule and a riding horse or a good mule that did both.

I've got 4 acres, and I could assure you...its not enough. But, we have family land that we could use to be additional land for hay and crops.

 

[Buck70]

After the War Between the States, some ex-slaves and soldiers were given 40 ac. and a mule.

 

[Mexican Squealer]

seems like you could grow plenty of food for a family that size on 4 acres. Must have some sho nuff eaters.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I'd say 40 or 50 would be good, if it's good land. More would be a lot better. You have to grow your own stuff, and stuff to feed your livestock, you need woodlots for fuel, etc. And you need some way to make enough cash to keep the taxes on it paid.

 

[ryanh487]

It takes a fair bit of money to live like a poor old farmer these days

 

[GeorgiaBob]

I was born on the Staked Plains in West Texas and a family of 4 could easily get by with just 3,000 to 5,000 acres as long and the well held water and you didn't mind dust in everything.

I also spent a few adult years in Middle Tennessee where a family of 4 or 5 would need about 10 to 20 acres of good bottom for crops and 30 or 40 acres of mixed woodlot for everything else.

It depends on the kind of land, features, water, hills, rocks, rainfall, soil, neighbors, and lots of other factors.

 

[treemanjohn]

It's definitely a very open-ended question. If you have good firm fertile land you can get by on less, if you live in a dust bowl you can need a County.

One of the biggest factors now is government. They don't want you to be self-sufficient. You have zoning and ridiculous Neighbors staring over your fence making sure that you comply. They're so little you can do without someone having a say. Another thing you have to take into consideration is fuel. You will also need a side Hustle. Manufacturing something would be a big help especially with the internet. Fishing lures, knives, arts and crafts,..

 

[Nicodemus]

In the right place, 2 or 3 acres would be sufficient. Especially if the soil is fertile there.

 

[whitetailfreak]

I've got 30 ac with about 8 being tillable, 10 being twenty year old pine, 4 being a spring fed pond full of bass, bream and catfish, and approximately 8 acs of large hardwood consisting of mostly Oak, Poplar, Hickory, Persimmon, Locust, and Maple. I believe my wife and I could be 100% self sufficient if we had to.

 

[Milkman]

Considering pastures and hayfield for beef and milk cattle ...,, crop land to grow gardens and grains for animals like the cattle ,pigs, mules , horses, chickens, etc.
also wooded acreage for firewood.

I think no less than 150 acres depending on how many people and farm animals you have.

 

[ryanh487]

Considering pastures and hayfield for beef and milk cattle ...,, crop land to grow gardens and grains for animals like the cattle ,pigs, mules , horses, chickens, etc.
also wooded acreage for firewood.

I think no less than 150 acres depending on how many people and farm animals you have.

Need about 2 acres per cow for grazing, plus 6 tons of hay per year for feed or a blend of feed corn and hay (1 lb of corn subbed per 1.5 lbs of hay). So at 4 tons per acre yield on hay and 3 ton per acre yield of feed corn you're looking at an additional 5-6 acres of hay/corn field per cow.

About 2 acres per person of farm space for fruits and veggies

1 acre for the chickens to forage plus some extra feed corn space.

5-10 acres minimum hardwoods for naturally replenished firewood availability

at least 20-40 acres for sustainable hunting grounds.

moving water for sustainable fishing (also usable for hydroelectric power).

Obviously some function can overlap (i.e. chickes can be allowed to free range in much of the garden space, you can hunt where you gather firewood, etc). 80 acres on riverfront or with a stream passing through should be good for a family of 4, 4 cows, and several chickens with plenty of habitat for game.

 

[Milkman]

Considering pastures and hayfield for beef and milk cattle ...,, crop land to grow gardens and grains for animals like the cattle ,pigs, mules , horses, chickens, etc.
also wooded acreage for firewood.

I think no less than 150 acres depending on how many people and farm animals you have.

Need about 2 acres per cow for grazing, plus 6 tons of hay per year for feed or a blend of feed corn and hay (1 lb of corn subbed per 1.5 lbs of hay). So at 4 tons per acre yield on hay and 3 ton per acre yield of feed corn you're looking at an additional 5-6 acres of hay/corn field per cow.

About 2 acres per person of farm space for fruits and veggies

1 acre for the chickens to forage plus some extra feed corn space.

5-10 acres minimum hardwoods for naturally replenished firewood availability

at least 20-40 acres for sustainable hunting grounds.

moving water for sustainable fishing (also usable for hydroelectric power).

Obviously some function can overlap (i.e. chickes can be allowed to free range in much of the garden space, you can hunt where you gather firewood, etc). 80 acres on riverfront or with a stream passing through should be good for a family of 4, 4 cows, and several chickens with plenty of habitat for game.

If he is going to work with mules and horses they will each require 2-3 times more hay and grain than a cow. Even more for draft size horses.

 

[elfiii]

In the right place, 2 or 3 acres would be sufficient. Especially if the soil is fertile there.

 

[Dustin]

Need about 2 acres per cow for grazing, plus 6 tons of hay per year for feed or a blend of feed corn and hay (1 lb of corn subbed per 1.5 lbs of hay). So at 4 tons per acre yield on hay and 3 ton per acre yield of feed corn you're looking at an additional 5-6 acres of hay/corn field per cow.

Pigs... forget cows, pigs will out do cows any day of the week for meat production, plus you get lard.

About 2 acres per person of farm space for fruits and veggies

aint nobody on earth gonna need two acres of garden for themselves.

1 acre for the chickens to forage plus some extra feed corn space.

I agree with what you say below they can run around anywhere really, no need for them to have an acre to themselves.

5-10 acres minimum hardwoods for naturally replenished firewood availability

around 4 or 5

at least 20-40 acres for sustainable hunting grounds.

Waste of space... talking sustainability, using land for hunting is the least productive way to live off of it.

If after using every "usable" bit of land you have you have some wooded then sure hunt it.

moving water for sustainable fishing (also usable for hydroelectric power).

not really needed.

Obviously some function can overlap (i.e. chickes can be allowed to free range in much of the garden space, you can hunt where you gather firewood, etc). 80 acres on riverfront or with a stream passing through should be good for a family of 4, 4 cows, and several chickens with plenty of habitat for game.

80 acres would be enough for several families of people.

For anybody wanting to try to make it the "self sustaining" way, I would recommend the book "Ten acres is enough" by Edmund Morris wrote in 1864. I skimmed through it once a long time ago and seemed like it had some pretty good ideas.

You also have to remember not everything can be produced by one person, some things you will have to barter for, if you try to fish, hunt, garden, ranch, make your own clothes, shoes, furniture, etc. you'll die naked and hungry.

 

[Milkman]

You ever try to milk a ? pig?

 

[doomtrpr_z71]

If you truly want to be self reliant if things are that bad, you need an acre or 2. Just make sure it's a warehouse full of fertilizer, then someone else will do the work and have to barter with you.

 

[ryanh487]

Help with all that work is what the wife and kids are for. Why else spoil the peace and quiet of 80 acres of hunting land on a trout stream?

 

[Capt Quirk]

How much you need, vs how much you really want? Really industrious folks can get by with just a few acres, or even less. We have 25 acres, and are situated comfortably on about 2 acres for living and farming. Part of that is also set aside for when we do chickens again. That won't be until we can guarantee the critters out there aren't going to eat all the chickens... again.

If you want cows, why do you need more than one or two? The more you have, the more work and expense is needed. 1-2 cows, 1-2 pigs, 10-15 chickens. You can get meat and milk from goats, and they take up less feed and space. Same goes for garden. If you work smart, you can go vertical, and raise as much vegetables as a large plot of flat ground.

We can't grow much of anything. Between the bugs, the critters, the weeds, and "forgetting to water", growing in the field doesn't work for us. I am instead gathering materials to build an aquaponics green house. We can grow fish, and run the fish water over the plants for nutrients. And, if you filter the water at the end, it can be suitable for drinking.

 

[brownhounds]

Without power or gas, you would need a mule to plow with. I know a 1-2 acre garden could feed a family, but how will you plow it without plows? You could definitely milk goats instead of cows to save space. You could use hogs to plow the garden, but you would need some tight, good fencing put up and somewhere to move them after they plowed. At least 5 acres of hardwoods for firewood to be able to heat, cook, and can or preserve meat.

Even if you only chose to raise chickens, goats, and a garden....I think you would still need 10 acres at a minimal.

5 acres firewood
2 acre garden
1 acre goat/chicken pen
2 acre hayfield.
**I'm having trouble making 10 acres work.
**My recommendation would be 20 acre minimal.

To the ones that said they can get by with 2-3 acres of fertile ground...how will you plow? Will you drink milk or just water? How will you heat? How will you grow food for chickens?

 

[Crakajak]

How much you need, vs how much you really want? Really industrious folks can get by with just a few acres, or even less. We have 25 acres, and are situated comfortably on about 2 acres for living and farming. Part of that is also set aside for when we do chickens again. That won't be until we can guarantee the critters out there aren't going to eat all the chickens... again.

If you want cows, why do you need more than one or two? The more you have, the more work and expense is needed. 1-2 cows, 1-2 pigs, 10-15 chickens. You can get meat and milk from goats, and they take up less feed and space. Same goes for garden. If you work smart, you can go vertical, and raise as much vegetables as a large plot of flat ground.

We can't grow much of anything. Between the bugs, the critters, the weeds, and "forgetting to water", growing in the field doesn't work for us. I am instead gathering materials to build an aquaponics green house. We can grow fish, and run the fish water over the plants for nutrients. And, if you filter the water at the end, it can be suitable for drinking.

what part of the state are you located?