So I’ve been looking really carefully at agriculture and farm sizes (I’ve managed to find some much better classical world agricultural data that works better for me).
Less than 50% of the potentially arable land in Pavis County is actively used in farming. The rest is grasslands, used for herding (and by the Praxian nomads). This agricultural land supports around 20,000 people engaged in farming, divided between two main types of farms: small household settlements and larger estates.
Approximately 2/3rds of the farmland is occupied by small household settlements, averaging around 10 hectares each. That’s some 2200-2300 settlements that are home to 13,710 people, with each farm supporting around 6 people—typically a family aiming for subsistence. The remaining 1/3 of the farmland consists of larger estates of the noble families and temples, averaging 85 hectares. There are about 125 such estates, housing 6,300 people, with each estate supporting around 50 people, including owners, tenants, and staff, and focusing on surplus production of crops like barley, grapes, as well as livestock.
Within a 5 km radius of New Pavis—walking distance —there are around 120 farms supporting around 1,000 people. This includes 115 small household settlements (averaging 9.5 hectares) and 6 larger estates (averaging 85 hectares). Around New Pavis only about 1/3rd of the potentially arable land is used for farming. This proximity to the city influences the smaller number of farms, as land may be reserved for other uses (such as nomad camps, grazelands, etc.
There are three small towns in Pavis County – Garhound, Bullford, and Indagos. Most of the inhabitants of these towns are farmers, and the areas around these farms are more settled than around New Pavis.
I’m not going to add any mention of hide into this thread or estimate its size. That’s just going to confuse things.
In Pavis county, the settlers likely use a combination of small diversion channels, terracing, cisterns, basin irrigation, and soil management practices, adapted from techniques used by the Native Farmers of Prax.
The settlers also make use of some parts of the ancient irrigation system of Old Pavis. After 400 years of neglect, stone cisterns and wells are often still intact enough to be repaired and put back into service with reasonable effort, providing valuable water storage and supply. Canals, though heavily degraded, were partially restored in specific, useful sections near their farms, especially where the settlers collaborated.
Now hopefully that gives a better idea of what the area looks like when your adventures go out of New Pavis. Lots of little farms, and stretches of thick grassland. Lots of area to graze livestock, be they cattle from Dragon Pass or Praxian herd animals. By now I suspect most of the cattle are actually beefalo.
And imagine lots of pigs. They are probably the main meat source for most farmers in Pavis County (although in New Pavis itself, it is herd beast).