Grid Down Perceptions of Reality

by Bruce Buckshot Hemming

  The spokesman for the group looked around at the men and their weapons and then said, “We’re leaving. How far south do we have to travel to get out of your county?”

  Scott interrupted, “We’ll be happy to escort you out of the county. This is your friendly one time pass, and we advise you to come back, or we will have a fight on our hands.

  The man said, “Not a very friendly bunch are you? We’re leaving and we won’t be back.”

  Scott smiled. “That’s good, because we have a heck of a lot more men than what you’re seeing and it would not be good idea for you returned.” They backed their horses out of the driveway and Scott pointed the direction for them to go. “We’ll be right behind you, just in case you get lost.”

  After they rode past the group, Scott stopped at the wagon and told them, “You two go ahead take this stuff back. I’ll swing by your house later tonight and let you know what happened.”

  Preston and Joe talked back and forth as they drove the wagon. Preston said, “Kind of reminds you of the Wild West, doesn’t it?”

  Joe gave him a half smile and said, “I guess in a lot of ways that is what we are now. Think about it. There’s no real law enforcement. No jails, no judges or courts.” He continued, “Once they ride out, they start all over and each community they go to will have to deal with them. It’s not like we can call the Sheriff in the next county and let them know what’s going on. And there’s no TV news reporting on what they’ve done, so I guess you’re right, it is the new Wild West.”

  Preston asked, “What do you think, five years, ten years, before we get everything settle down again?”

  Joe laughed, “I hope it won’t take that long. Look where we are already. People are going to have to learn to work together to survive. Sure there are some bad asses and tough guys that want to play Wild West, but I think within a couple years we can have this community up and running, and have a fairly good life here. The cold, harsh winter is going to be our best friend, keeping the riffraff out.”

  They took the wagon to the junkyard and dropped off the stuff, and then returned the wagon the Scott’s house. They unhitched the wagon and removed the gear from the horses, releasing them into the corral. They then jumped on their bikes and headed for home.

  Scott stopped by on his way home that evening, just to let them know that the men left the county without any problems.

  Chapter 23

  Crop Planning

  “Farming is a profession of hope”

  ― Brian Brett

  Jane and Amy began working on a nutritional chart, something to give people a rough idea what they needed for food. They were going off the Mormon basic of just dry goods, meat was up to the person to trade, barter or hunt for.

  They came up with a list of needs. A family of four would require; Wheat, 600 pounds, 100 pounds of oats, 200 pounds of rice, 240 pounds of beans, 100 pounds of white flour, 100 pounds of cornmeal, about 200 pounds of honey or maple syrup, as a sugar substitute, 200 pounds of lard, 50 pounds of assorted dried fruit, and about 300 pounds of meat. And that was just the bare bones. Milk and water would be essential liquids, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, especially if the family had young children.

  They just had to get a tractor going so they would be able to plant more food. The wild rice in the area would help of course. They figured an average yield of 22 bushels of wheat per acre or 968 pounds, without using pesticides. Plus, they would have to save the seed stock for the next years planting too. They figured there were about 75 households and the amount of food needed would vary, depending on how many people are living in the house. Sixty households would need the above amount of food. They roughly figured 44 pounds to a bushel, so they were going to need 50 acres in just wheat. They concluded that they would have to grow at least 100 acres, so they would have enough extra for seed stock plus extra to save for bad years. They had no clue how much they needed for white flour, unless someone has put up white wheat berries. For corn, they figured 25 bushels an acre, with no pesticides, and around 40 pounds per bushel or 1000 pounds per acre, they’d need 15 acres, again saving seed stock, plus saving for bad years. They had Great Northern white beans and figured about 20 bushel an acre, at 45 pounds a bushel 900 pounds per acre, call it 30 acres with seed stock, plus saving for bad years. They could supplement the corn to cover more acres as a backup, for the possibility of a bad wheat crop.

  Jane said, “Having running tractors is a must. Of course each family can grow their own gardens to have potatoes, tomatoes, squash, etc. Organizing this on countywide cooperative is going to take some hammering out.”

  After they finished the list, they went over it again and then Jane said, “Let’s not forget about the acres we’ll need to feed the livestock.”

  Amy said, “Oh sure, throw a monkey wrench into our plans. I completely forgot about that. How much feed do we need for the chickens?”

  Jane said, “I don’t know. I guess we can go have to talk to the chicken farmers and find out how much food they say we’ll need. I know for cows they figure 10 acres per cow/calf pair, that’s 5 acres for pasture and 5 acres put up in hay.”

  Amy said, “This is getting really complicated, isn’t it?”

  Jane nodded and then continued. “According to what we’ve figured, we need to butcher about 50 cows each year. So, we need 500 acres just for the cows. I don’t know what the pigs need. We are going to have to learn all this the hard way and keep good records for future years. This is all just math, so we need to talk with the ranchers, and find out how much they really need for the herds that they have.”

  Amy said, “From what I can tell, we have to get everybody on a time table for producing the food. The luxury of going to the grocery store to pick up things is over. We are going to have to dedicate a lot of hours each day in the field, just to make sure this works. Food is a number one priority.”

  Jane was flipping through an old Countryside magazine and found an article on raising pigs, with a break down for the cost of raising a single piglet until it was 200 pounds. The feed alone was 1,350 pounds of grain. She told Amy, “You can supplement their feed with acorns, and let them root around for food on their own, but at least 1,350 pounds of feed is needed.”

  Amy just shook her head and wondered how they would be able to do all that was needed for all of their survival. It was a daunting task they had ahead of them all.

  Jane added, “You also have to feed the stock that

  produced the piglet, and because they are larger, more mature

  animals, they require food for the full year. Therefore, figuring 60

  pigs to fill our needs, we would require 12 females, with one male

  to service them. That would entail 2,400 pounds of feed for each of

  them, and figuring roughly 990 pounds per acres for grain, that

  would take another 116 acres of feed just for the pigs.”

  The next day, Amy and Jane rode over to the chicken farmer to gather real data, and he told them that a medium weight-laying hen would eat about a 1/4 pound of feed per day, when she is producing.

  Jane, using her paper and pencil, said, “So, 200 chickens, at 50 pounds per day,” doing some more math, “would be 18,250 pounds a year. That means we will need 405 bushels for chicken feed. Figure about 20 acres of the 781 acres in food production.”

  Amy said, “That seems like an incredible amount of land. How did we feed all of the people before this?”

  Jane smiled. “We had modern food production with pesticides and optimal yields. A farmer in Iowa, for instance, was getting 200 bushels of corn per acre, and of course this was field corn used to feed animals. In North Dakota, the wheat farmers were getting 45 to 55 bushels an acre for wheat. I’m just estimating, as we don’t know what we’re going to need until we see the harvest reports, and figure out how much per acre we’re getting for yield.”

  Amy said, “Well, I know what little bit of experience I have in my garden, you have to kill the hec
k out of the weeds, and the more weeds you kill, the more nutrition that goes to your plants, equaling a higher yield.”

  Jane smiled. “Yes, people had to dedicate a lot of time working these farms. The only thing I’m really worried about is what if we have a bad crop year. A drought hits, a late frost comes, not enough rain, and there are a thousand other things that could go wrong. If we don’t have a backup, there’s no going to the next state, or country for that matter, getting the food we would need.”

  “We’ll just have to do a lot of praying, a lot of hard work, and hope for the best. You do realize that with the plan we have, we can’t take in any new people to the community. We’ll have to be coldhearted and turn them away for our own survival.” Amy said.

  Jane nodded and added, “I know. That’s why I don’t want to be the ones on patrol, as they are the ones that will have to turn women and children away, but I know we can’t take in everybody. It’s a hard, cold new world we’re living in.”

  Shaking her head, Amy said, “From what I’ve seen of the crops around here, I know we don’t have enough for this year. Let’s hope the guys can get some tractors working, and we can plant and work the heck out of these fields next year. We’re in good shape for this year, with the supplies you guys brought in, and the ones that were saved from the fire. But next year we have to have all this land and food production or we are going to be toast.”

  They took all of their findings and went over to talk to Fred, leaving Michael behind to guard the camp and supplies.

  Fred invited them into his house and said, “Welcome ladies. Nice of you to stop by.” He gestured for them to sit down in the living room, saying, “The Mrs. is over working at the cattle farm, getting milk and butter for us to have tonight.”

  Jane looked at Amy. “Oh, we forgot the milk cows.” Turning back to Fred, “We worked out a nutritional chart and it is based on some rough estimates, but we figured that for 300 people in the community here, we would need 781 acres planted for food production.”

  Fred laughed, “That’s not counting the dairy cow’s right?”

  Jane and Amy laughed and Jane’s face turned a little red. Amy jumped in and said, “Do you know what’s going on with the gasifiers? If we can get these hooked up to run some tractors, putting the land into production shouldn’t be that difficult.”

  Fred said, “Hang on a second ladies, and let me grab the county map of the area.” He walked into the other room and returned with the map, spreading it out on the coffee table. “Most of us are concentrated in this one third of the county. This is where we can easily patrol and keep an eye on things, watching out for one another. Now, if we expand just a few miles all the way around, I think we can have roughly 4,500 acres of farmland.”

  Jane and Amy smiled and nodded their heads, happy to hear that news.

  Fred went on, “If we get that all into food crops, we’re sure to have surplus, and using the storage bins in the area, we should even be able to put some food away for emergencies or bad years. I want to thank you both for breaking it down so we now have a rough idea of how to set up the plantings.”

  He added, “This year, we barely had 200 acres planted, which we thought was quite good, and because you guys already have food, you’ll need less of a share, so we can make sure everybody has food to get through this winter, and hopefully all of the way to next harvest. It’s not easy thinking in these terms, I know, and making decisions on who can come in and those we have to reject, has kept me awake many a night.”

  Jane said, “Yes, we know we can’t accept any new people in. We do want to thank you for allowing us to be part of this community, and we will do our fair share of work.” She added, “I don’t know if Joe told you, but I’m also a qualified nurse. Are there any doctors in the area?”

  Fred thought for a moment and then said, “I don’t think so, but we do have a veterinarian, but he doesn’t have a nurse working with him, and I’m quite sure he could use your help.” Looking at Amy he said, “Do you have any special skills my dear?”

  Amy smiled at him and said, “Who, little old me? I’m a hard worker and not afraid to get my hands dirty, with no special skills, but we’re all battle proven, and I ain’t a half bad shot, if I do say so myself.”

  Jane laughed and said, “Yes Fred, you don’t want to be front of her sights in a battle.”

  He smiled and said, “Ladies, it all sounds great and I thank you for your skills. Now, if you have the time, we can take a ride over and I can introduce you to the vet. Jane, you can start working for him and Amy you can pick which farmer you’re going to help.”

  They rode over to the vets place and were in awe of what a beautiful house he had. It was a totally restored two-story farmhouse, and even had the white picket fence around the front. There was a nice big front porch, and it even had a swing on it. Amy thought it was right out of a movie setting; it was so perfect. There was a very well kept red barn with a huge corral that had different animals running all over the place. There were goats, sheep, cows, horses, and even chickens. The ladies weren’t sure if they were patients, or belonged to the vet.

  They walked up to the barn and the door was open. They saw the vet was walking toward them with a bucket.

  Jane spoke first, “Are we interrupting you? Are you attending a sick animal?”

  The man appeared to be in his 50s, with gray hair and farmer’s coveralls. Jane’s question caused him to laugh out loud. “Nope. I’m just collecting milk from the goats. Would you care for a glass?”

  He then asked, “Fred. Who are these lovely young ladies you brought to me?”

  Fred made the introductions and the vet said, “Name’s Tyler, but everybody calls me Ty.

  Fred said, “Jane here is a registered nurse and I thought she might be able to give you a hand attending the sick people, and I’m sure she’d be mighty handy for tending animals too.”

  He looked Jane up and down, sizing her up. “Is that so? Well why don’t you come up to the house for a spell.” Looking at Amy, he said, “Are you a nurse to?”

  “No,” Amy laughed, “I’m her friend. We travel together. Our husbands are out on the salvage team right now.” She didn’t want to mislead the good doctor into thinking they were single, just in case he was looking for a mate.

  “Husbands? And here I was hoping you were single. It gets quite lonely out here, since my wife passed away. It would be nice to have a nurse to help me. Please come up to the house.”

  They walked up to the house and once inside, they were surprised to see his house was very well kept and clean. He had beautiful antique furniture and the room felt warm and cozy. They walked down a hallway and into the kitchen, which had a long wooden table that appeared to be made out of oak. There were six tall backed chairs around the table and he said, “Have a seat.” He grabbed four glasses and poured everybody some fresh goat’s milk.

  Ty sat down and said, “I have an operating room that we’ve converted to treat people. We no longer take animals inside for treatment, we treat them out in the field, or in the barn.”

  He continued, “I had stored powdered bleach, like they use for swimming pools, and we mix up a batch to use for cleaning and sterilizing things. Like all hospitals, cleanliness is very important.”

  He paused and then said, “Where are you living now Jane, and how fast can you get here?”

  She looked at Fred as she said, “Well, I think it’s about a three hour ride from here.” Fred nodded, indicating that was about right.

  Ty shook his head and said, “Three hours? That’s not going to do. You’re going to have move closer. If there were an emergency, I would need you to be within an hour. Is there a problem with moving?”

  Jane laughed, saying, “We just got here. We were looking for another place, as the place we’re living in right now, we have to haul water in 55-gallon drums and 5-gallon buckets. Do know of a place close by that has water close to the house? A stream, creek, or river would be good.”


  Ty’s face lit up and he said, “Of course I do.” He looked up at Fred and said, “Why didn’t you show them the Berg’s summer place?”

  Looking at Amy and Jane, he continued, “Some rich folks have a second home not far from here, and it has a stream flowing about 50 yards from the house. On horseback, it’s only about a half an hour away. So, the first step is for you guys to move over there, that’s of course if your husband agrees.”

  Amy and her both laughed, and she said, “If it’s got water that close, don’t worry, they’ll agree.”

  Amy said, “And I’m looking for a farm to work. Where’s the closest one around here?”

  Ty said, “Well, if you don’t mind working at a chicken farm, there’s one about a 45-minute horse ride from here.”

  Changing the subject, he asked, “Do you guys have any children?”

  Jane said, “None of our own, but we do have a 12-year-old orphan that we’ve adopted. His name is Michael.”

  Ty smiled. “Good. We need a young lad around here to help keep the barn clean. He’s not afraid of work is he?”

  Amy spoke up, “If you let him ride horses, he’ll work for hours for you. He does love riding horses, and fishing too. We don’t have horses, and ride our bikes everywhere.”

  Ty finished off his glass of milk and said, “Fred, show these lovely ladies to their new house. I would expect it will probably take a week or so to get moved in and settled. After that, depending on the workload of course,” looking at Jane, “you and Michael can plan to come by Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, if that’s okay. And of course you’ll be on-call for any emergencies. Is that something you’re willing to do?”

  Jane answered, “Of course. I’ve been a nurse for a lot of years and that schedule would be almost routine, so that won’t be a problem.”