Table 2.
Land use and consumption of an Iron-Age family farm, corresponding to 6 adult individuals. Calculations assume a mixed herd of livestock (7 cows, 3 heifers, 3 oxen, 5 pigs, and 16 sheep) with milk cows making up less than half of the animal stock. Updated from Widgren (1979)
| Land use | Area (ha) | Food item | Productivity (kg year−1 m−2) | Calorie content (kcal/kg) | Yearly production (kcal) | Daily consumption (kcal/individual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arable | 3 | Cereal | 0.05 | 3200 | 4 800 000 | 2192 |
| Meadow | 30 | Dairy productsb | 0.0047 | 400 | 1 116 000 | 510 |
| Pasturea | 30 | Meatb | 0.0005 | 2000 | 600 000 | 274 |
| 2975 |
aMinimum area of pasture assuming primary productivity as meadow (500 kg hay/ha)
bMeat and dairy product productivity expressed per unit area of pasture and meadows combined