Plan an oil supply backwards from the jar: decide the pounds of oil the village needs, divide by the fraction the press recovers (50-70%) and the oil content of the seed (35-45% for sunflower) to get pounds of seed, then divide by the seed yield per acre (800-1,500 lb) to get acres. For a village of 100 that is about 4-8 acres of sunflower for cooking oil in the middle case, and the cake left over is animal feed.
Part of Oil Pressing at Scale
The planning sequence for an oil supply, the unit conversions it needs, and where the detailed yield, cake and budget figures are worked out.
Work Backwards From Oil To Land
The chain has four links and each divides:
- Oil needed (pounds a year), from the headcount and use (Community Oil Budget).
- Seed needed = oil / (oil fraction x recovery).
- Land needed = seed / seed yield per acre (Oil Yield per Acre by Crop).
- Cake produced = seed - oil, to feed animals (Meal and Cake Utilization).
A worked pass for the carrier’s low budget of 1,100 lb, with sunflower at 40% oil (inside its 35-45%), 60% recovery and 1,150 lb of seed an acre (inside its 800-1,500): seed = 1,100 / (0.40 x 0.60) = 4,583 lb; land = 4,583 / 1,150 = 4.0 acres; cake = 4,583 - 1,100 = 3,483 lb. Doubling the oil to the carrier’s 2,200 lb doubles each result, so for a village of 100 the middle case runs from 4.0 up to 8.0 acres, the 4-8 acres of the answer above.
Units: Pick One And Convert Once
| To convert | Factor |
|---|---|
| US gallon of oil | 3.785 L = 3.48 kg = 7.68 lb (at 0.92 kg/L) |
| Litre of oil | 0.92 kg = 2.03 lb |
| Acre | 0.4047 hectare |
| 1 lb per acre | 1.121 kg per hectare |
| 1 gallon per acre | 9.35 L per hectare |
The 0.92 kg/L is an assumed oil density. Mixing pounds, kilograms and gallons in a chain is how a plan ends up 20% off; write the unit beside every number.
Planning Is About Margin, Not The Best Case
The carrier’s yields are for the oil in the seed. The press recovers 50-70%, the seed yield varies with the season, and oil keeps only 6-12 months for sunflower. A plan that works in the best case fails in a poor year, and a surplus cannot be kept for longer than a year. Plan for the middle, grow a spare plot, and press through the year rather than all at once.
What You Need
- A headcount and an allowance per person
- A measured seed yield and press recovery from a trial plot and a weighed batch
- A land allocation checked against the food budget
Method: A Planning Sequence
Step 1: Fix the oil needed. Allowance x people x 365, plus the 30-50% non-food share.
Step 2: Choose the crop for the climate (Oil Crop Selection).
Step 3: Measure the plot yield and press recovery.
Step 4: Compute seed, acres and cake as above.
Step 5: Set a margin: one extra plot, and a pressing calendar through the year.
Step 6: Check the press and the power are big enough (Powered Press).
Common Mistakes
- Planning on the carrier’s oil-in-seed yield. The press takes 30-50% less.
- Forgetting the cake. It is roughly 70-80% of the seed’s weight and a valuable feed.
- Planning a big carryover. The oil does not keep.
Land taken from food
Oil land competes with food land: check the calorie budget before planting (Caloric Budget for a Community). Presses hold large forces and seed dust is combustible; see the press and processing pages for the guards and the no-flame rule.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Community Oil Budget - the full worked budget
- Combine with: Oil Yield per Acre by Crop - yields by crop