[Wheat] "Yes, with "intensive" agriculture- lots of irrigation and fertilizers."

No, those figures were from Gene Logsdon's book Small-Scale Grain Raising which was written for small-property owners and home gardeners. The author advocates animal manures, green manures, etc. Wheat is a dryland crop, not requiring much irrigation. Winter wheat is sown in the fall (in milder areas), sprouts, makes a little show of green when the rains come, goes dormant, then sprouts multiple stems for each plant (called stooling) and starts growing again when the weather warms up a bit in spring, and is harvested in midsummer, often without ever being irrigated.

Spring wheats, planted in spring in colder areas, is planted in spring for a late summer harvest. This may take some irrigation, but not as much as many other edibles. And nowhere near as much as many ornamentals.

Sue

an article on the "Food shortage"

http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/blather_spew/food_alarmism_u.php

kc2ixe,

Thanks for the link! That makes a lot of sense.

-Blast

Realistically, most dryland wheat farms produce about 25 bushels an acre on average. Irrigated wheat farms can produce upwards of 60 to 70 bushels of wheat per acre. I don't know anyone with yields higher than that. Southern Walla Walla County has some of the best soil conditions for wheat I've ever seen (a rich Loess soil and plenty of ground water for irrigation). When they grow wheat there, they get about 65 bushels and acre. I'd think that is the optimal yield for the amount of effort necessary. I am sure you could get more out of the ground, but the effort would be along the lines of diminishing returns for the effort expended.

The article only reinforces my earlier point.

It's not hard. Just remember to keep the lid on.

Jeanette Isabelle