# How self-sufficient are you when it comes to food?



## PrepperForums (Nov 21, 2014)

How self-sufficient are you when it comes to food?

Do you have a garden? If so, how do you store your harvest?

Do you raise any animals for meat? Hunt? What do you do for long-term storage?


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## Stockton (Jun 21, 2017)

Living in a condo makes it almost impossible. We have room for
about 4 potted plants. We do live on pond with some catfish and
the delta is walking distance away. Seasonal options there range
from salmon, chad, to stripers. I'm not much of a fish eater but
will not to starve. There is some waterfowl around but in a crisis
I'll bet they don't last long.

Less than a linear mile from my condo across the slough and 
past some ugly areas is open farmland. I know only that they
have row crops. I think strawberries and green beans but I
think they change it up often. I know about 2 miles further
in is a chicken ranch. That guy is probably going to have a 
tough time protecting his flock.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

I have the land and water. Abundant nut and fruit trees. I have farming implements and a seed vault. Obtaining ducks and goats may be tricky but I think I could do it. Have plans for a green house.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Not very, I guess. Especially compared to some rural folks on this site. I'm one of the 98% of people in the US who don't live on a farm anymore. I grow some vegetables in the summer, freeze produce acquired from farmers markets, had to give up hunting for health reasons, and have a supply of storage food. Not great, I know, but at least I'm not like my neighbor, who has a personal shopper for groceries and recycles 5 pizza boxes a week.


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## Gunn (Jan 1, 2016)

I have enough food for 5 adults, 3 kids based on 2k calories a day for a year. We have 1/4 acre garden and can everything. Thanks to my education here I now have a solar pump on the well. There is elk, deer and pronghorn galore. This location is 35 miles from nearest town, on 12 miles of dirt road. All of this is at our BOL. Don't get me started on security.


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## Stockton (Jun 21, 2017)

I should note that while I'm condo living I am storing food.
We have been purchasing extra of the items we regularly
eat. We're rotating it better. We're also buying more 
raw foods then processed. We're making bread and pasta
on our own now. We're probably at a six month supply 
without serious rationing. Likely 9 months if SHTF happened
and we stated rationing right away. I also manage a 
commercial kitchen and bar. Hence I have a lot of goods
stored there.


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## Boss Dog (Feb 8, 2013)

PrepperForums said:


> How self-sufficient are you when it comes to food?


If there's no one out in the middle of the cotton fields to hear the neighbors chickens cluck and squawk, do they make a noise?

Ssh-h-h...


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

If I were still up in ILLinois, I "think" i'd be ok. Down here in AZ, I'm still learning to grow stuff. 
I wouldn't bother trying to raise animals for a long time. They eat too much for the food value 
they give back. Yah, I'd have to turn into a vegan for a while. Unless the javelinas come by to 
visit my bird bath, like the do now.


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## Coastie dad (Jan 2, 2016)

I'm not going to violate OPSEC, but let's just say I haven't invested all the time and money into building up my body mass index to have some little pissant event like the apocalypse effect my efforts negatively.

View attachment 71977


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## Coastie dad (Jan 2, 2016)

PS: I have Easter bunnies for sale right now! Sale goes on through Easter Sunday.
The following Monday I will have approximately 56 pounds of rabbit meat on sale...
Along with the 10 dozen eggs fresh that day...
Goat milk...
Goat meat if someone doesn't straighten up....
And fresh catfish on Friday.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

PrepperForums said:


> How self-sufficient are you when it comes to food?
> 
> Do you have a garden? If so, how do you store your harvest?
> 
> Do you raise any animals for meat? Hunt? What do you do for long-term storage?


Well I strive to be able to be self sufficient after a crisis but I'm not currently as I just don't have the time. I do garden and do have 150+ fruit trees plus blackberry patch, blueberry patch, raspberry patch & muscadine grapes on trellises. Only meat animals I have would be a couple of thousand pounds of grain fed channel catfish in the pond. I only have 7 chickens but they are pets and provides us a lot more eggs than the wife & I can eat. I have neighbors with roosters and I have a battery powered incubator in a Faraday enclosure, so as to rapidly & greatly ramp up the chicken population when needed. I have tons of food in long term storage so as to include neighbors in a survival group and a couple of these neighbors are medium sized farmers/ranchers with hundreds of cows, bees, etc.

I keep a years supply of diesel fuel in storage for my small tractor or the use of my neighbors big ass tractors, so as to be able to quickly prepare new, much larger garden plots. I keep hundreds of pounds of seed in storage too, which is added to yearly. In case the tractors couldn't function (EMP ?) I have many hand tools in the barn so as to garden old style. I keep a Grundfos flex well pump, plus all of the necessary switches & controllers, in Faraday enclosures so as to have pressurized water in my system for the house & the drip irrigation in the orchard & garden. I keep lots of extra drip tubing, emitters, and connectors in the barn. I have quite a few solar panels in storage, some of which are wrapped in layers of cardboard & heavy foil (Faraday enclosure).

I'm blessed to live in the country surrounded by fields & woods full of game. I am well armed with tens of thousands of rounds of ammo. Most of my neighbors are also well armed & avid hunters... much better than me. Key to my becoming self sufficient will be keeping the neighbors on our rural lane working together for the betterment of all. I couldn't possibly be self sufficient if they were a threat... thus the tons of food in storage and seed enough for all.


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## StratMaster (Dec 26, 2017)

We keep bees as well, right next to the garden where they can pollinate profusely!


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

StratMaster said:


> We keep bees as well, right next to the garden where they can pollinate profusely!


I don't keep bees but a neighbor does. So I have two top bar hives in storage in the barn & during a crisis would be ready to split some of his hives to get mine operational.


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## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

I buy mushrooms, cooking oil, peanut butter and some spices. Fresh salad lettuce in the winter from stores. I buy but normally trade for pasta, rice , cheese and flour from neighbors. 

I raise cattle, chickens, goats, geese, have farm ponds with cat fish. Have other lakes ad hunting areas nearby . Large garden so that I do not normally buy vegetables except salad in winter. Orchard- apple , plum, peach. black berry's , pears, cherries. Never have gotten around to planting any grapes. 


As long as the sun shines and the rains come I am good.


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## Coastie dad (Jan 2, 2016)

Fruit trees are my weakness, for some reason we have never had good luck with them. I suspect it may be soil related, but i don't know. I've never taken the time to drop by the county office with a soil sample. Think I may do that..


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Coastie dad said:


> Fruit trees are my weakness, for some reason we have never had good luck with them. I suspect it may be soil related, but i don't know. I've never taken the time to drop by the county office with a soil sample. Think I may do that..


You being in Arkansas, you might want to try Arkansas Black apples. They are my most disease resistant apple & do very well in the southern heat & humidity. If you try them, remember they will need a pollination partner. I also suggest ordering the trees on vigorous rootstock that has the potential of getting rather large. Point is, the dwarf rootstocks make smaller trees for a reason... they aren't vigorous. You can always, which I do, simply prune back the trees each winter if you want to keep them shorter. I suggest MM.111 rootstock.


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## redhawk (May 7, 2014)

I hunt and fish for my meat. I do garden and I either can, freeze or dehydrate it all. I also bake my own bread, so I feel confident but am always looking for other ways to provide food.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

We have the land and some nice raised beds for gardening, plenty of seeds and some pretty good "know how" for veggie growing. Our stores are ample, approx 1 year of short term/medium term food and maybe another 1 year of long term food storage. We rotate regularly. 

There are plenty of deer, turkey, rabbits and squirrels on our land but as most of us know, we will harvest them out pretty quickly in a SHTF situation. We are also splitting time at our second home approximately 300 miles away from Slippy Lodge so that presents a situation of its own. 

At this point we have no livestock and when my travel situation changes, have pretty good plans for chickens, goats and possibly rabbits. I would rate our sustainability at approx a 5 on a scale of 1-10.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

On @Slippy 's scale I am about a 3. I have plenty of storage and can survive well over a year on that alone. Plenty of water as well. But living where I do I have limited space for growing enough food to sustain myself. Plus, I just don't have a green thumb. I manage tomatoes and peppers but that's about it. Going to try expanding on that this year with the remaining space but as I said, not near enough land to sustain myself. Been thinking of Rabbits as they are quite, I can set up a place for them. I can hunt and the wife is a fair hand with rod and real but again, limited resources here in the burbs.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

My wife always wanted to be a farmer, and 20 years ago we made her dream come true.
We have chickens, about 50 including roosters, and have all the eqipment to hatch out more.
There is a vegetable garden, and several fruit trees. Muscadines grow along one interior fence line, and blackberries are an invasive weed that we don't really have to take any care of.
Deer are in the back yard and in the freezer. My neighbor raises beef cattle for the market, however we co- op with an organic beef producer and get a quarter cow cut and wrapped every year.
Our place is on a dead end dirt road six miles outside a one stop light town. If things get really bad, we can always get into town on horseback if necessary.
This is something we both dreamed about many years ago while having to live in the city.


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## mikelesten (Mar 17, 2018)

I have a very nice garden and I hunt in my spare time


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## The Resister (Jul 24, 2013)

Where I live it has grown so much that gardens and so forth are out of the question. So I started looking in north Georgia and Tennessee for a secluded spot. Here is the problem:

The places I find make the owners choose between having a garden and having animals. Then, on top of that, you're limited to either poultry or cattle, but you can't have both. If I have ten acres and don't sell my stuff commercially, what is the problem? Where do you go to find a place you can be self sustaining?


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

The Resister said:


> The places I find make the owners choose between having a garden and having animals. Then, on top of that, you're limited to either poultry or cattle, but you can't have both. If I have ten acres and don't sell my stuff commercially, what is the problem? Where do you go to find a place you can be self sustaining?


You must be looking in subdivisions with special covenants I assume. I've never heard of rural land having any such restrictions.


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## The Resister (Jul 24, 2013)

******* said:


> You must be looking in subdivisions with special covenants I assume. I've never heard of rural land having any such restrictions.


I was looking a couple of months ago at a place in Tennessee with large tracts of land 5 + acres. There were no major roads and virtually nothing there, but lots of restrictions.


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## Chiefster23 (Feb 5, 2016)

I would run away from any area that had land use restrictions like that in place. Sounds like the folks in charge are more of those ‘progressive’ do-gooders that know better than you how you should use your land.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Chiefster23 said:


> I would run away from any area that had land use restrictions like that in place. Sounds like the folks in charge are more of those 'progressive' do-gooders that know better than you how you should use your land.


Exactly. Stay away from any developments that have restrictions greater than the county ones.



The Resister said:


> Where do you go to find a place you can be self sustaining?


We found ours in a newspaper listing in the land for sale section of the classified ads. You can check with local realtors also. I suggest driving thru areas you like & looking for signs. If you find a spot you really like, but no land for sale, you can ask around & talk with the local landowners to see if they would sell off a parcel. That is common around us.

I suggest finding the area you like & then spending time there. Go to church & buy from local stores... especially the farm supply or coop. Once you are known a bit, make it known you would like to by some land & move there.


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## Louie’sMom2 (Jan 25, 2018)

Coastie dad said:


> PS: I have Easter bunnies for sale right now! Sale goes on through Easter Sunday.
> The following Monday I will have approximately 56 pounds of rabbit meat on sale...
> Along with the 10 dozen eggs fresh that day...
> Goat milk...
> ...


I don't think Easter Bunnies are edible, are they? 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Coastie dad (Jan 2, 2016)

Once you get the fur off, they're still pink meat.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

How self-sufficient am I?

As a 'to be prepper' I'm probably terrible, that's why I come here.

As a former biker, I can steal anything...


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## Piratesailor (Nov 9, 2012)

Welp...probably not as much as I should be. Since buying the property I’ve been trying to rehab it more than anything. I’m to the point now that we can start looking for sustainability. We made 2 garden beds yesterday and bought a pretty decent coop to start with the chickens. I do have 6+ months of stored food and we do have hogs, fish and other critters in the area. I live next to a 1,000 acre farm as well as a small cattle ranch so there is barter. With the garden and chicks we’ll start canning, etc and go from there. 

Not bad but not great either... but very doable.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Piratesailor said:


> Since buying the property I've been trying to rehab it more than anything. I'm to the point now that we can start looking for sustainability.


I suggest getting in the perennials as they can take years to bear. I'm a big fan of fruit trees, nut trees, all sorts of berries & muscadines.

You mention hogs. You talking about feral pigs? We have those around too & one of my long term crisis plans would be to capture some to domesticate. I've read that is doable. I figure would be worth the effort as if it didn't go well, would just eat those. I just don't have anyone near that raises pigs.


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## Piratesailor (Nov 9, 2012)

******* said:


> I suggest getting in the perennials as they can take years to bear. I'm a big fan of fruit trees, nut trees, all sorts of berries & muscadines.
> 
> You mention hogs. You talking about feral pigs? We have those around too & one of my long term crisis plans would be to capture some to domesticate. I've read that is doable. I figure would be worth the effort as if it didn't go well, would just eat those. I just don't have anyone near that raises pigs.


Yes, feral pigs in this part of Texas. Just the other day saw a number of tracks so they are abundant. One of my neighbors raises hogs (domesticated).

Just set up the new chicken coop, ready for occupancy!

Good idea about the fruit. We have orange, grapefruit and lemons right now. Will probably put in a fig and maybe a pear.


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## phrogman (Apr 17, 2014)

If I can eat grass to survive, I'm good. If not, I'm not going to make it very long. I have a couple of months of stores. There's a big river a couple of miles away so fish is a possibility and there is private hunting land in between but just like anywhere else, it will not last long. I only have half an acre to work with, so gardening will not be enough.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## JustAnotherNut (Feb 27, 2017)

We have about a 1/4 acre total lot with apple, pear, plum, peach and 2 cherry trees. One sweet and the other is a mix with pie cherries included. Garden is about 25x50 with an added 10x10 that is currently planted with wheat, barley and triticale. It's not enough to live on or even feed the few chickens we have, but it is to build up my seed supply and as a treat now & then. The garden proper has strawberries, raspberries, globe artichoke and a few asparagus in an area designated permanent beds. I grow most of our vegetables in the open area. I do can most of our fruit & vegetable needs for a year and the garden provides much of it, but I also have to buy from local markets to fill in. Since I use companion planting, successive planting and intensive planting methods and grow vertical.....I can get more out of the space I do have than most would even consider. I am learning that to do all of that, my soil has to be well fertilized and use plenty of mulch to conserve water. 

I have the seed, the chickens, the jars and the know how......I just don't have the space to be as sufficient as I'd like.


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## yooper_sjd (May 14, 2017)

got alittle over an acre in the small unincorperated town I live in. This little hick town is less than 400 people. No restrictions as to pets/livestock on your property. I have over 50 chickens in various coops and runs completely enclosed to protect my birds from feral animals and predators (neighbors dog killed a 12 lb bobcat in their yard last month). I got various small garden beds in my terraced back yard. Plenty of native pecan trees all along the river and in town. Got the south concho river runs through our little hamlet, lots of carp, and catfish available. Along with hunting seasons here in texas (there is just alittle over two weeks out of the yr here when it is not any type of hunting). So being a disabled vet I get my hunting and fishing license free. And I am slowly goat proofing my property to keep the tree climbing rascals in, so I can get a couple of goats for diary and meat purposes.


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## loverboy (Jun 7, 2018)

Unfortunately I have to depend on cooked foods/supermarket. Could hardly make a decent meal myself lol


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## OrchadsPrim (Jun 16, 2018)

Personally, I have my own orchads which provides food to my all family. I have a wide variety of fruit trees: apples, peaches, pears, some citric trees and vegetables. I'm vegan so I live very happy eating this, specially in cold weather when they grow better. This article ww.theprepperjournal.com/2018/04/24/orchestrate-orchard-success/ describes very well the steps to oschestrate an orchad. I took some tips from there to improve my source of food. Have anyone done this before?


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## Malcom Renolds (Jul 14, 2017)

OrchadsPrim said:


> Personally, I have my own orchads which provides food to my all family. I have a wide variety of fruit trees: apples, peaches, pears, some citric trees and vegetables. I'm vegan so I live very happy eating this, specially in cold weather when they grow better. This article ww.theprepperjournal.com/2018/04/24/orchestrate-orchard-success/ describes very well the steps to oschestrate an orchad. I took some tips from there to improve my source of food. Have anyone done this before?


Aloha from Saint Louis and SEMO


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## SGT E (Feb 25, 2015)

Coastie dad said:


> I'm not going to violate OPSEC, but let's just say I haven't invested all the time and money into building up my body mass index to have some little pissant event like the apocalypse effect my efforts negatively.
> 
> View attachment 71977


Holy Shit! You too???!!!!


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## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

Short term food goals have been met and would be supplemented from our fruit trees, birds, honey bees, and local hunting/ trade with neighbors for cows ect for fresh meat. We maintain a small garden but have several acres available to rapidly expand the garden if required.

There is some concern about getting good eggs if the birds ran out of laying feed. I've discovered that laying feed goes bad after about 9 months, the birds simply won't eat old feed and egg production drops about 70%. Also when the birds free range every day and eat very little feed egg laying drops off so while we can grow corn I suspect that we will be lacking in calcium and protein for as many eggs per bird as we are seeing with store bought laying feed. Without the calcium in the laying feed we get a lot of thin or no shell eggs. A neighbor said long ago they fed calcium (crushed oyster shells) to their hens. 

If we are learning this egg laying lesson by experience just think about the other unforeseen problems we will probably discover if we had to quickly expand food production. Keeping honey bees alive with the many problems bee keepers face today without mite treatments may also not work out not to mention keeping bugs from killing the garden.


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## MikeTango (Apr 13, 2018)

Elvis said:


> Short term food goals have been met and would be supplemented from our fruit trees, birds, honey bees, and local hunting/ trade with neighbors for cows ect for fresh meat. We maintain a small garden but have several acres available to rapidly expand the garden if required.
> 
> There is some concern about getting good eggs if the birds ran out of laying feed. I've discovered that laying feed goes bad after about 9 months, the birds simply won't eat old feed and egg production drops about 70%. Also when the birds free range every day and eat very little feed egg laying drops off so while we can grow corn I suspect that we will be lacking in calcium and protein for as many eggs per bird as we are seeing with store bought laying feed. Without the calcium in the laying feed we get a lot of thin or no shell eggs. A neighbor said long ago they fed calcium (crushed oyster shells) to their hens.
> 
> If we are learning this egg laying lesson by experience just think about the other unforeseen problems we will probably discover if we had to quickly expand food production. Keeping honey bees alive with the many problems bee keepers face today without mite treatments may also not work out not to mention keeping bugs from killing the garden.


Trading for neighbors cows:
I plan on doing this as well. However, my neighbor has over 500 cows and they're scattered in different fields miles apart. There is no possible way they are going to keep all of those cows safe or be able to feed them all if they are moved to a central location. I predict many starving animals in certain SHTF situations.

Calcium for chickens:
My mom always saved the egg shells from cooking and fed them back to the hens. Is this a safe or good practice? I don't know, but it works, she still does it and has never had problems from doing so.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

The "Beef and Cattle Research Council" say it takes an average of 10.6 pounds of feed and 8 gallons of water to produce each pound of edible beef. 
To me, that is way too much work and "expense". I'd have to go vegan with some occasional meat from game and maybe a fish (from the AZ 
dessert, I know, good trick) now and then.


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## JustAnotherNut (Feb 27, 2017)

MikeTango said:


> Trading for neighbors cows:
> I plan on doing this as well. However, my neighbor has over 500 cows and they're scattered in different fields miles apart. There is no possible way they are going to keep all of those cows safe or be able to feed them all if they are moved to a central location. I predict many starving animals in certain SHTF situations.
> 
> Calcium for chickens:
> ...


I've done this and know of many others that have as well. I've always heard to dry the shells in the oven a few minutes, then crumble or powder & mix with other foods. Same with feeding back eggs, cook & mix with something else to disguise the looks/taste of shells & eggs so the hens don't develop a taste for eating their own eggs.

Usually I've only done it when they don't have access to the outside, bugs, worms, grass & weeds, like in the winter OR if there is a problem like weak or soft shells, or stress of some sort


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