Six years have passed since your marriage, and your wife and you have had three children that survived out of the five that were born. The oldest, a daughter, can help a little with the work, but the other two children, both boys, are still too young. Last year’s harvest provided you with barely enough to live on, but you have planned well and have stored some food for your family to eat.As the year passes your food supply begins to run low and you are able to obtain only about three-fourths of the minimum number of calories needed for a person who works in the fields. Because of your diet, you are exhausted after five or six hours of work. It is nearing time to plant grain for the new year. Fertilizer will help keep the field producing and increase the yield per acre, yet petroleum (a major ingredient in purchased fertilizer) has tripled in cost, causing the price of fertilizer to triple also.
Since the grain you set aside last fall will now buy only one-third of the minimal amount of fertilizer you need, you and your wife consider the possibility of selling some of your food grain to buy fertilizer for the fields.
- If you decide to sell some of your grain, click here to continue your story.
- If you decide to save your grain for food and not fertilize your field, click here and continue your story.