Survival bunkers and underground survival shelters is it worth the effort? Read this and decide.

I wrote a blog a few weeks ago about the repercussions of a catastrophic disaster rendering the San Francisco Bay Area and the surrounding area, about a 100-mile radius, without electric power, water or any utilities. Part of that was a few paragraphs on the "preppers" who plan on evacuating to a secluded location. (What is a prepper? Click here) That's all fine, I have no problems with that, however, it started me thinking, after I stated: "we will need farmers, not soldiers." How much do we eat per year per person and how many acres would it take to provide food for one person for the duration of one year. It is my belief that most people (myself included) have no idea the amount of water, land and work it takes to provide for one person for a period of one year. Let's start:

An abandoned ammunition bunker is a ready made survival structure.

One ton, 1996 pounds of food eaten on average by every man woman and child in the United States.
  1) Dairy, we each consume 630 pounds of milk, cheese, heavy cream, and all dairy, 31 pounds of cheese each. Per person per year, this tells me I'm going to need a milking cow, 4 to supply 25 people for a year. It involves raising alfalfa, corn, and other cattle feed, good feed makes good milk, more acreage, and a pasture. One-half acre for the four cows, a pasture would have to be a rotating 2 1/2 acres which equal 5. While one side is growing feed such as "vetch" the other 2 1/2 acres is being grazed by the cows. Of course either we will need a bull or find someone that has one, being in the middle of nowhere that will be difficult, the cows must be pregnant every two years or so. If we want butter, ice cream, cream, and cheese, we will have to make it from scratch, which means at some point some one will have to make the processing equipment. If you are interested in the very confusing subject of how many acres it takes to raise a steer click here.
  2) 270.7 pounds of chicken, turkey, beef and pork, this doesn't sound like too large of an amount.  Beef consumption has been on the decline since the 1970's, Poultry surpassed beef as the meat most consumed by Americans, just over the past few years. Pork consumption has also been on the rise, although slightly over the past few years. Approximately 55 pounds of beef, 60 pounds of chicken, 42 pounds of pork, and approximately 18 pounds of turkey per year per person. We will need 7 steers per year to feed 25 people, now granted we're talking about 12-14 children and 10-12 adults so 7 steers may be one or two too many. Then we will need about the same amount of hogs for pork, almost the same amount, 5 hogs would supply what we need, 750 chickens would supply 120 1/2 pound servings per person. Turkey is much lower, one turkey per person per year, if they average 15 pounds, which is a fairly small bird.
  The pasture will have to be much larger, or summer grazing would have to be eliminated, 10 acres of pasture for the milk cows, bull, and steers, rotated between growing various feed grains plus feeding out a little. The animals are also able to forage for themselves, it's still done in the Sierra Nevada's, the steers are driven up the mountains in the spring and rounded up in the fall. That means we'd have to have horses, and know how to drive cattle, I personally have no idea how that is done. The dairy cows and the bull will have to stay home, as well as at least one steer. The pigs will need a pen, they are fairly simple to take care of, they are pretty content in a well built spacious pen, 5 hogs would need a pen of about 1/8th of an acre. A plus with hogs when they free range is they are prolific snake killers, so if there are rattle snakes around they won't be if there are pigs around. There will be chickens every where, One layer per egg per day, we will need at least 25 layers to supply eggs, allowing some eggs to hatch to supply the 750 we will need over the year.

That is one big hog on the far side of that horse, unless that's
a small breed of horse.

  3)  Vegetable and fruit consumption has been on the decline for the past 10 years, consumption has fallen from 300 pounds per person per year (2003) to 272 pounds (2013). That statistic is a little misleading, potatoes, orange juice, and lettuce made up 22 pounds of the 28 pound decline, Americans are consuming more of other vegetables, we are still eating them, however, we are now supplementing them with a wider variety. In a bunker situation we would raise a lot of root vegetable's, turnips, beets, squash, potatoes and the like, the reason is they store easier than some others. Beans, (dried) onions, garlic, peppers, and herbs would be basic crops. We will need one acre per person to grow all of the vegetables we will need for one complete year. A 25 acre farm will be needed and is the reason I said the preponderance of the population of our small group will have to be experienced farmers and ranchers. It will take 1/4 acre per person just to raise enough potatoes to supply us for 6 months, harvest would be done, then planting would begin. If we are fortunate enough to live in an area that experiences mild winters we will have a winter crop. We will have to grow some vegetables for seed as well, after onions, garlic, and other root crops go to seed they get tough and stringy, but still edible, we will have to have seeds.
  4)  Equipment, land, and storage will be a huge concern, will we have fuel? Most likely the first few years we will, maybe we will be able to make our own biofuel, alcohol is simple to make, diesel engines are capable of burning a lot of variations of fuel. It will take a lot of fuel to farm 25 acres and control as many animals as is needed to survive. Custom equipment and implements will have to be constructed, special equipment the types of which has not been used in this country for at least 100 years. Horse drawn, human operated, steam or water and wind power may be used, such as a windmill for providing power to pump water. Water to supply the crops, animals, and people, with no electricity either a manual pump, gravity from an uphill source or a windmill for a deep well may well be the only choices. Beasts pulling plows, wagons, and sleds are special animals, not every horse or ox is suitable for training. Most if not all of the bridles, reins, and other equipment will have to be made by the group, as well as every thing else we will be using.

When we say "off the grid" is this what is meant? In a bunker situation this
would be an activity enjoyed by the masses, all 25 of us. 

  As far as land is concerned, all concerns will have to be addressed prior to the disaster striking. 50 plus acres, will be large enough, but that far in the middle of nowhere the concern would be "cleared" land, 25 acres of crops another 25 acres could be planted with corn or wheat, we will have to be able to make bread from something.
  Storage is another concern, silos, root cellars and smoke houses will have to be constructed and understood. In an enclosed space any commodity that produces dust will explode violently. I was in the middle of a wood dust explosion, my partner and I caused it by not thinking, but we did not get injured I think because we were in the exact center of it and it was not in an enclosed space, we lit a cutting torch and Kaboom! A huge ball of orange flame over 75 feet high and a diameter about the same. It was like being inside a fluorescent light bulb. All of the stored food supply needs to be kept dry as well, the mold is a serious concern. Rodents, wild animals, and rot will certainly have to be dealt with.
  Supplying food will be the number one objective, fending off invaders will most likely never take place for a few reasons. Most of the blogs bunker preppers write talk about how far in the middle of nowhere they are, who will find them? Any one that does will almost certainly have to know in advance where they are, that means the group will know them. The second point is an invader would have to completely dedicated to taking our compound over by force, taking a huge amount of supplies not only to get there but to be able to survive once they do. The last item is I seriously dought if anyone who is desperate and possibly starving to death would invade a working farm just to take it over, a farm is a living entity all of its own, farmers work with it not over it. A deep understanding is required to produce a viable and productive farm, farming is the most important industry of any civilization. Do you know where our food comes from? Click here for a short explanation.
  I have not said a word about sweeteners, sugar, corn syrup, alcohol or coffee, I would stock up cases and cases of coffee, at least a life time's worth. I haven't mentioned fire wood or hygiene either, soap making, candles, shoes, and linens would all have to be hand made. There will be so much labor involved in each aspect of our imaginary bunker site that no less than 25 people would be needed. With any fewer people in the event any thing happens, injury, illness or death the entire colony would be severely compromised. Think if you were alone with your spouse and 3 children when the father is bitten by a snake or falls and breaks a leg, his load is transferred to everyone else. Fighting intruders will be the least of that families concerns, making it through the winter would then be the main goal.
 

Corn is the crop that saved the stranded balloon travelers in
Jules Verne's "Mysterious Island." A few corn kernels were found
in the privates pockets, it multiplied into a live-able amount.

What's your opinion? Maybe I'm all wet in my thinking if you think I am, leave a comment. Will we end up in a spot like this that involves a complete collapse of our society as is popular thinking recently? Will it turn into a "Mad Max" situation if it does render down to that?
  Thanks for reading, I would like to read your comments.
jacquesandkate emergencykitsplus.com