I live on a ranch. We do not grow any crops, only beef. The surrounding area is a combination of wheat farms and ranches. The reason the ranches aren't wheat fa

I live on a ranch. We do not grow any crops, only beef. The surrounding area is a combination of wheat farms and ranches. The reason the ranches aren't wheat farms is because the terrain is just to rugged for productive wheat farming. I can't really speak to the total efficiency but the electrical distribution is very similar to what you have in the city. In fact we export electricity to other states. Water comes from a well and the sewer is a septic tank. That means that the water we use is returned to the water table minus evaporation. I imagine each bovine exported off the property represents some amount of water. Small outfits deal with what is called a co-op to offset the problems of purchasing small quantities of external inputs. This helps us stay somewhat competitive with the large corporate run farms and ranches. Because we work on the place we live, we do not have to drive long distances to work, saving fuel that way. My particular house uses a Ground Source Heat Pump for heating in the winter. In the summer we leave the windows open all night and the house gets down into the low 60's (F). We close the windows as soon as we get up and close the shades on the side of the house the sun is on depending on the time of day. I imagine though I can't really state it as fact, our place is more efficient than the typical mcmansion you see in the cities these days.