Allocate land by working from the calories you need to the acres that produce them, then adding pasture, fallow and a food forest. The caloric guide’s sample plan for 100 people totals 91-128 acres, about 0.9-1.3 acres per person, with only 51-68 of those acres in food crops and the rest in pasture, resting land and fruit and nut trees.
Part of Caloric Budget for a Community
Land allocation planning is the division of a community’s acreage among food crops, animal pasture, resting land and tree crops so that calorie demand is met with margin.
Start From Calories, Not From Acres You Happen To Have
The method in the caloric guide runs one way: annual calorie need divided by calories per acre gives crop acres; to those it adds land for seed, failure, fallow and animals. For 100 people at 2,800 kcal, the need is 102.2 million kcal a year, and at the guide’s 2.5 million kcal per acre average for a diversified plan, that is 41 acres of cropland (102.2 ÷ 2.5 = 40.9). The guide then doubles it, and quotes 1 to 1.5 acres of total agricultural land per person.
A Sample Plan For 100 People Needs 91-128 Acres
| Category | Acres | Main crops |
|---|---|---|
| Staple grains | 25-30 | Wheat, corn, oats |
| Root crops | 10-15 | Potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips |
| Legumes | 8-10 | Dry beans, peas, lentils |
| Oil crops | 3-5 | Sunflower, rapeseed |
| Vegetables | 5-8 | Cabbage, squash, onions, greens |
| Pasture and hay | 20-30 | Mixed grass |
| Fallow and rotation | 15-20 | Resting land, cover crops |
| Food forest | 5-10 | Fruit trees, nuts, berries |
| Total | 91-128 |
Worked Example: Checking The Plan Against The Need
- The total of the table’s low ends is 25 + 10 + 8 + 3 + 5 + 20 + 15 + 5 = 91; the high ends give 30 + 15 + 10 + 5 + 8 + 30 + 20 + 10 = 128. These match the guide’s stated 91-128. Per person that is 0.91-1.28 acres, about 0.9-1.3.
- The five food-crop rows sum to 25 + 10 + 8 + 3 + 5 = 51 acres at the low end and 30 + 15 + 10 + 5 + 8 = 68 at the high end (this page’s sum).
- At the guide’s 2.5 million kcal average, 51-68 acres give 127.5-170 million kcal, which is 1.25-1.66 times the need of 102.2 million (127.5 ÷ 102.2 = 1.25; 170 ÷ 102.2 = 1.66). Applying a single average to rows that include cabbage and beans flatters the result; use the row yields in Crop Calorie Yields Per Acre for your own plan.
- The margin is what the guide spends on seed saving, failure and fallow, so it should not be counted as spare food.
What You Need
- A survey of your land by use: cropland, wet, steep, wooded and poor soil (Soil Fertility)
- Your own yield figures from previous seasons
- A rotation plan (Fallow Rotation and Soil Recovery)
- A buffer rule (Buffer for Crop Failure and Pests)
Method: Build An Allocation
Step 1: Compute the calories needed and the cropland that would produce them. Step 2: Assign crops by calorie share, with no single crop above 30% of the total. Step 3: Add pasture for the animals you will keep, on the land unfit for crops first (Pasture vs Grain-Fed Calculations). Step 4: Add fallow and a food forest, which takes years to mature (Food Forest & Permaculture). Step 5: Compare the total with the land you have and cut animals or crops accordingly.
Common Mistakes
- Planning to the average year. The guide says to plan for crop failure and to plant 20% more.
- Counting pasture and fallow as food acres.
- Ignoring that tree crops need years to bear.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Acres per Person by Diet Type — how diet changes the acres
- Combine with: Seasonal Production Calendar — when the land produces