Preparing for Uncertainty and Self Reliance

[Speaker to Animals]

For what besides spraying and collecting the fruit? It's not like he's plowing the fields every year, it's an orchard.

Spraying, pollinating in some cases, and picking. It's not just one time either. They also have to use vehicles to travel around the grove regularly just like this guy has to walk through his greenhouse every day. That stuff adds up.

But it can't add up proportionately. Just like the beer guy says transport is a nominal cost to retail, fuel can't be that big a cost to an orchard. Field crops that get a combine pass for tilling, planting, multiple sprayings, weeding, harvesting, etc, sure.

Beer is a manufactured product. His energy costs are similar to a greenhouse in that it's all in one spot. Energy costs to run a farm and energy costs to run a greenhouse are completely different. The costs of running a brewery, though higher, are more akin to running a greenhouse.

Check this out, from 2008:

The 100 acres totals $303,250, which sounds great — but then come the expenses.

Chemicals, property taxes, fruit taxes, insurance, caretaking, picking and hauling would cost about $250,000 for Federer’s 100-acre grove.

http://flcitrusmutual.com/news/heraldtr ... 21608.aspx


I am obviously no expert on growing oranges. I just know from experience of growing up next to a large one what goes into it. It's a lot more work and energy than you seem to believe.

This guy in Nebraska is running a profit margin almost ten times better than a large orange grower because he has no co-op to pay into, no distribution costs other than his own truck, and his energy costs are less than a dollar per day. He's obviously not going to make the total profit similar to a 100 acre orchard in Florida, but his profit margin is exponentially better and he's putting a fraction of the actual work into it.

That article is not even taking into account the cost of a band of kids raiding the grove every single day in the Summer either. "I dunno know why these Tangerine trees produce so few fruit.."

[brewster]

That article is not even taking into account the cost of a band of kids raiding the grove every single day in the Summer either. "I dunno know why these Tangerine trees produce so few fruit.."

A few kids can only eat so much in an orchard. It's like how the squirrels can't put a dent in my grapes, but once the starlings arrive, it's all over if I haven't netted them. Don't get me started about birds and peaches or figs, those fucks will take a peck out a dozen fruit. That has a to be a huge advantage of a greenhouse, keeping those bastards out.

[TheReal_ND]

[C-Mag]

Over the last couple weeks I've taken a couple Ice Fishing trips to a new lake. I've fished the lake for nearly 30 years, mostly during the Summer and had good results. I was up there last Winter and noticed no one Ice Fishing it. Well, by plan I was determined to find out this winter if it was an isolated gem or no fish around.

In two trips, we caught one trout, it was a nice fish, 26", about 4 pounds. Tried about every bait and technique we could think to use, except spearing. That's coming. Haven't figured out the lake yet. We'll keep after it until we find out where in the lake they hide out for the Winter.

Fishing and hunting aren't a given source of protein for anyone who's tried to do it. In fact, most fail more than they succeed.

[DBTrek]

In an apocalyptic scenario my plan is to learn how to dress and cook a squirrel. There are enough of them around here to keep the family fed for a few years at least.

[C-Mag]

In an apocalyptic scenario my plan is to learn how to dress and cook a squirrel. There are enough of them around here to keep the family fed for a few years at least.

The Furloughed government workers will have them all eaten long before you get to them

In the Apocolyse Scenario we'd be right back to Pre-Columbian and Frontier days living, you'd eat whatever calories you could get your hands on. Hardly anyone eats squirrel anymore. We spit cooked one on a camp trip as a kid, I wasn't impressed. I'm sure the Appalachian poor mastered how to cook them.

[brewster]

Fishing and hunting aren't a given source of protein for anyone who's tried to do it. In fact, most fail more than they succeed.

Sure nuff. Salt fishing this past year sucked, I ended up filling the freezer with porgies, the fish equivalent of squirrel.

[Speaker to Animals]

Damn. In Florida, salt is the way to go if your goal is fo9d yields. Fresh water fish are difficult.

[brewster]

Damn. In Florida, salt is the way to go if your goal is fo9d yields. Fresh water fish are difficult.

Dunno, I could feed my family for a while just on the largemouth from one little golf course pond in S FL. Easy to catch 1-4 lb fish.This year was an oddity in the salt here, bluefish never showed, flounder stayed offshore, blackfish were gone by the time the NJ season opened. High point was a 33" striper that hit my blackfish crab. Usually in spring 8-15 lb blues arrive in huge schools hitting everything that moves, so dense you can see their fins sticking up. A topwater plug with get them crashing it one after the other looking like piranha. Didn't happen this year.

[TheReal_ND]

Reds don't run out there?