Well, it seems the Brewing tip fixed my farm problem. The problem now is that my consumables stock has dropped to 50 or so, and my population has risen to about that. I'm thinking it should balance out, as all farms are running and near max effeciency and I've got a few dwarves employed full time to Brew/Farm.
Quick few more technical questions though.
First, I keep hearing about a drawbridge. How exactly do I go about building one? If I place bridge pieces from the B menu, do I have to link each one to the switch or only one? How big do you guys normally do a draw bridge?
With my previously stated farm specs (8 3x3 plots), what is a suitable number of dwarves to plant and farm? I have several right now, but I feel they are trading off work a lot right now and most end up sitting around and drinking more often than farming. Could that mean they don't have enough to do? Should I expand my farms for future immigration/supplies?
I have a caged prisoner. What should I be doing with him? I'd rather get rid of him but I've used up most of my copper making weapons and trade goods, and the copper cage he is in could be rather useful for resetting my trap.
I now have a miltia with ten members, and they are all equipped with leather armor, leather helms, copper axes, and wooden shields. I should be upgrading them to iron/steel armor? I have them as a dedicated milita and they are constantly training right now, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to get them gut any thief brave enough to enter. Is there a patrol order or something so I can get rid of pesky thieves?
Lastly, with rising immigration and suitable lodgings, I'm finding a lot of unemployed dwarves with skils useless to me right now (animal dissecting, fish cleaner, glass maker). I've mostly been employing them to smooth the stone in the living section, but I still find some who are unemployed. What is a good use of immigrated and unemployed dwarves?
As always, thanks guys, you've all be extremely helpful.