Reply #22: FAO definitions of 'arable' and 'permanent pasture' [View All]

[muriel_volestrangler]

Arable Land:
land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted only once), temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow (less than five years). The abandoned land resulting from shifting cultivation is not included in this category. Data for "Arable land" are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially cultivable.

Permanent Pasture:
land used permanently (five years or more) for herbaceous forage crops, either cultivated or growing wild (wild prairie or grazing land). The dividing line between this category and the category "Forests and woodland"; is rather indefinite, especially in the case of shrubs, savannah, etc., which may have been reported under either of these two categories.

http://www.fao.org/waicent/faostat/agricult/landuse-e.htm

So their 'permanent' is pretty permanent.

Terracing might be possible, but it takes a lot of work - and would the soil be fertile enough?

Again, are you sure those sunflower oil yields are per crop, not per year?

It's not that I don't want it to be feasible - it's that I don't think it is - not with the current oil use in the USA. If the oil use could be cut to say 20%, then it could be a good way of supplying the transport requirements. But the reduction in usage is vital.