Your Food Storage Equation...

[Survivor_316]

Since we live in pretty dense forest, I'm a bit concerned about livestock grains. I can't keep cows for a lot of reasons, but we may add a few goats soon. Now, it's just poultry, which we can handle. We need every bit of cleared space for our own food and animals in the woods would get eaten in no time.

Thankfully, we have neighbors who are pretty well set up to barter with and they've made it clear they're willing to do so for meat but not milk.

I do laugh every time I read a book where they have a cow/goat/sheep that's just continually in milk, though.

 

[Arcticdude]

Since we live in pretty dense forest, I'm a bit concerned about livestock grains. I can't keep cows for a lot of reasons, but we may add a few goats soon. Now, it's just poultry, which we can handle. We need every bit of cleared space for our own food and animals in the woods would get eaten in no time.

Thankfully, we have neighbors who are pretty well set up to barter with and they've made it clear they're willing to do so for meat but not milk.

I do laugh every time I read a book where they have a cow/goat/sheep that's just continually in milk, though.

I think trading is going to be more important going forward. Many of us already trade for goods and services now. I trade beef for fire wood, I've traded grazing for bee hives, etc. A few years ago I traded an old barn for labor on fencing. When I had my sawmill I would mill other peoples logs for 50% of the lumber.
I'd like to get a milk cow, just don't have anyone to share the milk with.

 

[poltiregist]

I chose milk goats for a survival aid animal over a cow for multiple reasons , One of their favorite foods is green leaves so no pasture needed . It isn't as crucial to put up hay for them during the winter months as in a pinch will even eat dry , brown leaves though presently my goats do eat better than that . I have a doe goat that lost her babies at birth so I have been hand milking her . She has been giving milk without being rebreed for nearly 2 years . Just last week " I think " was the last milking . By keeping two female adult goats you will very likely have milk every day as long as you want to tend to them . -- Personally I don't plan on trading after the bombs drop . If there was anything I could think of that my tribe would potentially need then I would be trying to remedy that shortfall now . --- Also I have chickens for eggs and a honey bee hive . Another part of the equation is gardening , wild game and fish from the stream that runs through our property .

 

[Survivor_316]

That's a pretty good time to have her in milk! Compared to a cow, that's excellent if you like goat milk. Do you mind me asking the breed? I've always heard they'd be in milk 8-10 months, so that surprises me.

AD, maybe you all could be the soap factory of your "neighborhood"!

 

[poltiregist]

That's a pretty good time to have her in milk! Compared to a cow, that's excellent if you like goat milk. Do you mind me asking the breed? I've always heard they'd be in milk 8-10 months, so that surprises me.

AD, maybe you all could be the soap factory of your "neighborhood"!

That surprised me also . I went back and checked my records to make sure that I wasn't wrong about how long that goat was in milk . Yes I was correct she was in milk for 22 months and actually still has a little milk but don't think she will need milking anymore . She is a Nubian goat . She is mean to other goats though and has killed several young goats . She is gentle towards humans . --- Actually I don't particularly like the goat milk but one of our group does . What I do like though is the goat milk biscuits that my wife makes . The reason I have the goats is all about preparing for when SHTF . Some just prepare for what I consider a bump in the road . I prepare for a Mad Max existence with no law structure , electrical grid , fuel or stores . Thus my goats I consider very important . I just hope they can survive if a Nuclear conflict unfolds , because they will be on their own until the radiation level is acceptable for me to leave my shelter .

 

[poltiregist]

I think trading is going to be more important going forward. Many of us already trade for goods and services now. I trade beef for fire wood, I've traded grazing for bee hives, etc. A few years ago I traded an old barn for labor on fencing. When I had my sawmill I would mill other peoples logs for 50% of the lumber.
I'd like to get a milk cow, just don't have anyone to share the milk with.

I can understand trading after SHTF may be very important for some . I just hope my prepping has left me in a position to not need to do any trading . What will unfold over the coming months is just a guess on everyone's part .

 

[DrHenley]

Goat milk is an acquired taste. I could learn to like it I suppose, but I have not yet acquired the taste for either goat milk or goat cheese. And the last time I ate goat meat, I got food poisoning, so I kind of am not in any hurry to eat it again. But I had eaten it before in Kenya, and it was not too bad.

 

[bigpaul]

I can understand trading after SHTF may be very important for some . I just hope my prepping has left me in a position to not need to do any trading . What will unfold over the coming months is just a guess on everyone's part .

trading wont be safe for a long time post collapse, I dont think I would trust anyone enough to trade with them WTSHTF, in any case most will have nothing to trade and the population will be decimated after the event or events have happened, in a remote location like this with a low population pre event and an even lower one post it will be a non starter.
we have always know in this area after a national calamity we will be on our own.

 

[Survivor_316]

That surprised me also . I went back and checked my records to make sure that I wasn't wrong about how long that goat was in milk . Yes I was correct she was in milk for 22 months and actually still has a little milk but don't think she will need milking anymore . She is a Nubian goat . She is mean to other goats though and has killed several young goats . She is gentle towards humans . --- Actually I don't particularly like the goat milk but one of our group does . What I do like though is the goat milk biscuits that my wife makes . The reason I have the goats is all about preparing for when SHTF . Some just prepare for what I consider a bump in the road . I prepare for a Mad Max existence with no law structure , electrical grid , fuel or stores . Thus my goats I consider very important . I just hope they can survive if a Nuclear conflict unfolds , because they will be on their own until the radiation level is acceptable for me to leave my shelter .

I'm not a fan of goat milk much, either, but hey- if we're hungry, we're hungry! I do like goat cheese, though, and I have quite a bit of rennet.

I keep meaning to make vegetable rennet and see how it does, but I haven't gotten to it.

trading wont be safe for a long time post collapse, I dont think I would trust anyone enough to trade with them WTSHTF, in any case most will have nothing to trade and the population will be decimated after the event or events have happened, in a remote location like this with a low population pre event and an even lower one post it will be a non starter.
we have always know in this area after a national calamity we will be on our own.

The people we would barter with, I consider part of our crew. We already barter with them for some things. We're all preparing, it's just not a "what's mine is yours" situation.

 

[bigpaul]

we dont do much barter here at the moment, we do get some excess Apples given to us and some Rhubarb but we also grow these ourselves. we buy eggs from a smallholding about a mile away and some meat from a farm shop just up the road.

 

[Proud Prepper]

There's a big MAG less than a mile from my house. I've do some trading with them and even discussed our groups working together during events, we did that during hurricane Ida. In the last 6 months I've seen many pieces of land bought and developed in my area what looks like prepared people. I'm slowly introducing myself to them and learning there intentions and mindsets.

 

[Arcticdude]

I disagree. I think trading will become very important after SHTF gets worse. Nobody can have everything that they will ever need. Many will have a surplus of things to trade, fruit, produce, meat, milk, labor etc. I don't care what happens to the cities. I'm so far away from any population center that they will never pose a problem for us. And the few people who live around here I'll gladly help out any way I can, and they will do the same.
Personally I think SHTF started a long time ago, and this is what it looks like. I think it'll get much worse, but I don't think it'll ever be anything like in the apocalypse novels.

 

[bigpaul]

maybe bartering will happen in the US but it wont happen over here, nobody barters over here, most people go to supermarkets and supermarkets only, a few out here like us use farm shops and roadside stalls, post SHTF all that will stop, most people will have NOTHING to trade, I doubt they'll even have enough for themselves, very few hunt and hardly anyone forages.
once the power grid shuts down the big die off will start, I'm not expecting a large survival rate post SHTF, maybe !% if their lucky, probably a lot less.
I dont think it will be anything like the apocalypse novels or films, it'll just be different. welcome to the new normal that is nothing like the normal that anyone once knew.

 

[Arcticdude]

maybe bartering will happen in the US but it wont happen over here, nobody barters over here, most people go to supermarkets and supermarkets only, a few out here like us use farm shops and roadside stalls, post SHTF all that will stop, most people will have NOTHING to trade, I doubt they'll even have enough for themselves, very few hunt and hardly anyone forages.
once the power grid shuts down the big die off will start, I'm not expecting a large survival rate post SHTF, maybe !% if their lucky, probably a lot less.
I dont think it will be anything like the apocalypse novels or films, it'll just be different. welcome to the new normal that is nothing like the normal that anyone once knew.

I agree. Every place is different. I believe in the big urban areas in the US there would be few survivors. Most of those in the ghettos and slums will sit around waiting for government hand outs, just like they do now. The US has vast rural, mountainous and forested areas. Most of the people that live in these areas are decent, honest and hard working. Most will gladly help out neighbors in time of need.
Too often we focus on the urban areas and the problems associated with them. Not all of us live in the cities, and I really don't care what happens there. In fact I'm glad that most of the population live in cities. Now if they'll just stay there.....

 

[poltiregist]

Reading the above posts , one from Big Paul and one from Articdude - the one thing they did agree on it wouldn't get as bad as seen on the Apocalypse movies . I will disagree . Though no one can predict how bad it will get with any certainty , I do predict it will get as bad as seen on the apocalypse movies . With that belief in mind , I have prepared for such an environment . Perhaps I have over prepped . But I had rather over prep than under prep . Anyway prepping to me is fun and about as natural as a dog wanting to hunt . --- If NATO is Nuclear attacked tonight , we will be living in that Apocalypse World Tomorrow .

 

[Arcticdude]

That's the thing, nobody knows for sure what will happen, or when or how bad. We prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Although I believe in bartering, I'm working on getting everything I need so that I won't need to barter. It's more about wanting to, than out of necessity. It's just me and my wife here, and we're getting older. We had hoped to pass this place on to the kids one day. They aren't interested, too much land, too far out, too much work, etc.
I think when it comes to prepping there is no right or wrong way to go about it. We prep for what we think may happen in our area and according to our means. Many people on this site are way ahead of us in many respects.

 

[Survivor_316]

I think some of believing how bad it will get depends on your theology, too.

Personally, I believe it will get very bad, but I don't think I'll be here for the very worst of it. I'm still trying to prepare for the worst, though.

I wish we were in an even more secluded area, but we're doing a lot better than most. I can't believe your kids wouldn't want to be there, AD! If my extended family weren't out this way, I'd have moved a long time ago.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

I've been giving some thought about gardening after a life changing SHTF event. In many areas growing a garden is as easy as tilling the ground, dropping in a seed, cover and water. But in many areas the timing needs to be right, and you need at least 4 years worth of seeds stored up. An example; a few years ago we had to plant our garden 3 times, twice because of late frost and once in late June when we had a storm that dropped a foot of hail and 3 inches of rain in just a couple of hours. In a short season growing area, many plants need to be started inside the house. And once planted outside they need to be covered at night to protect from frost. Right now, if we have a crop failure, its not a problem we just get what we need at the supermarket. But after SHTF that won't be an option. Trading, foraging and hunting will mean the difference between life and starvation. Also, keeping a calander up to date will become important after a couple years of SHTF. Sometimes we can get a false spring where May looks like June. Without a calendar we could be fooled in to planting a month too early.

We get false springs sometimes...false winters too. Last Saturday it was 76, this Saturday 48.

One of the things, kind of an old Texas wives tale really, don't plant until the pecan leaves come out. Found it to hold pretty well, with a couple of years of exceptions.

 

[Bacon112179!!]

trading wont be safe for a long time post collapse, I dont think I would trust anyone enough to trade with them WTSHTF, in any case most will have nothing to trade and the population will be decimated after the event or events have happened, in a remote location like this with a low population pre event and an even lower one post it will be a non starter.
we have always know in this area after a national calamity we will be on our own.

Trading only works when both parties are desperate enough to do it.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

I can't keep cows for a lot of reasons, but we may add a few goats soon.

I agree goats are valuable for milk, cheese (which I love) and soap!! Soap is some folk’s afterthought, but it should not be. Can you even imagine how many millions have died from
lack of proper hygiene?

I chose milk goats for a survival aid animal over a cow for multiple reasons , One of their favorite foods is green leaves so no pasture needed

Totally with you on the ease of keeping and raising compared to cows. While I don’t have any yet, my sister who is moving much closer to us come summertime is getting some early spring. Just praying everything doesn’t fall apart before then.

I do predict it will get as bad as seen on the apocalypse movies . With that belief in mind , I have prepared for such an environment . Perhaps I have over prepped . But I had rather over prep than under prep

As we’ve seen, there are varying opinions on just how bad it will get. My best guess is that the effects of the coming crash and/or war will vary greatly according to one’s location. As Arctic noted, there are few people close to him. I can see those parts of the country very much working together early on. Those of us in the country and not close to cities, who already trade and have a group set up will quickly turn into something more like the Amish…with lots of weapons and security forces. My tiny town already have ex military planning how to keep others out.