Historic millers kept a toll of 1/10 to 1/16 of the grain they ground, which on a village of 100 grinding 476 kg a week is 29.8-47.6 kg a week, far more than one miller needs. In a community the miller is paid through the work-allocation system, so set the toll to cover only the stone, bearing and animal costs, weigh every sack in and out, and give each household a fixed milling day.
Part of Community Grain Mill
How a community pays for its mill and shares it: the toll arithmetic, a household schedule, and the record that keeps it fair.
A Historic Toll Is Large Next To A Community Miller’s Needs
The carrier states the traditional toll as 1/10 to 1/16 of the grain, which is 10% down to 6.25%. On 476 kg of grain a week (68 kg a day for 100 people):
- 1/10: 476 x 0.10 = 47.6 kg a week
- 1/16: 476 / 16 = 29.8 kg a week
A person eating the carrier’s 1.5 lb of grain a day eats 0.68 kg a day, 4.76 kg a week. So the toll feeds 29.8 / 4.76 = 6.3 up to 47.6 / 4.76 = 10 people. A historic miller used the toll to pay for the mill itself, its repairs and rent, and for a living. A community that already owns the mill and pays its miller through work allocation needs far less.
Set The Toll To The Mill’s Costs
The carrier says the miller’s labor is compensated through the community’s work allocation, and that tracking throughput ensures fair use. Decide what the toll should pay for: spare stone and bills, bearing grease, animal feed if the power is a gin, and a reserve of grain against a failed harvest. Any toll above that is a tax; if a council wants one, name it.
What You Need
- A scale at the mill, accurate to about 100 g, and a ledger
- A schedule assigning each household a milling day
- A stock of toll grain in a covered, dry, rodent-proof store
Method: A Household Schedule
Step 1: List households and daily need. A household of 5 needs 5 x 0.68 = 3.4 kg a day, 24 kg a week.
Step 2: Assign days. With 20 households of 5 and two milling days a week, 10 households come each day. Ten households bring 10 x 24 = 240 kg if they mill a week’s flour, or 480 kg if they mill two weeks’.
Step 3: Check the day’s load against the mill. 240 kg at the overshot wheel’s rate of 51.6-206.6 kg/h is 240 / 206.6 = 1.2 h up to 240 / 51.6 = 4.7 h (Bushels per Hour by Power Source).
Step 4: Weigh and log each sack in and out. Write the household, the date, the grain weight, the flour weight and the toll.
Step 5: Pay or store the toll. Weigh the toll into the village store; do not eat it from the mill.
Step 6: Review quarterly. Compare the toll taken with the stone, grease and feed spent, and adjust.
Common Mistakes
- Copying the historic toll. It was set for a private mill; a community mill needs only its own costs.
- No scale. Without weights the fair-use record is a guess.
- Letting households mill a month at once. Whole-grain flour goes rancid within weeks.
Crowds and dust at the mill
A queue of households in the mill is a crowd near moving gears and stones: keep waiting people outside the rail, and keep children out. Flour dust explodes in a cloud; no open flame in or near the mill, and sweep up spills between turns.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Maintenance and Troubleshooting - keeping the mill running
- Combine with: Caloric Budget for a Community - how much grain the village needs at all