Long time lurker who appreciates this site. I'm from an agricultural (personal) and mineral exploration (family) background; two degrees of separation from Colin Campbell (from oil exporation - we're fans of his, and of Hubbert), and one from Rob Hopkins (really enjoyed his "Future of Food" conference in University College Dublin, in '05 I think it was).
We are beginning to use on farm produced Windpower, and Pure Plant Oil as fuel - as well as using wood fuel for the last couple of decades. We're not off grid, nor are we pursuing that or
total self-sufficiency. We are however, very interested in insulating ourselves, so to speak, from dependence on outside fuel and food sources (and shocks) in parallel with our other operations - as a sort of insurance policy that pays back even before potentially bad things happen. E.g. raising a few cattle for our own consumption. I like using technology and petroleum to build up my long term capital base or assurance policy while I can.
Good luck to you all - stay safe and sane out there
