Tips & Tricks for Farming Simulator 23
Farming Simulator 23 (Switch & Mobile) is a fun experience, but there is very little direction as to what you can and should do when you first start playing. Here are a few tips to help to get your farm going in the right direction.
Increase Your Yield Bonus with Fertilizer, Herbicides, and Plowing. If you hop off your tractor and literally walk through your fields, a pop-up window will show you if you need to apply weed killer (crop protection), fertilizer, or plow your fields. You get bonuses for doing each of these. And if you do all 3, you will essentially double your crop yield. So get yourself some inexpensive crop protection and fertilizer implements for your tractors. And when you have the money, buy a cheap plow too. Plowing is helpful early on in the game. Plowing also helps prevent weeds.
Don’t Harvest in the Rain – The game will tell you this once. You will get a reduced Yield if you try to harvest in the rain. Just wait out any storm, and do other chores when it’s raining.
Buy More Chickens – Chickens will give you a small boost of income. Early in the game, you will take all the money you can get. You start the game with 3 chickens, and your pen will hold 30 chickens. So buy 27 more and put those hens to work. Roosters are just handsome, and don’t really contribute anything to the roost. You don’t need more Roosters.
Feed your chickens from your harvest and/or silos – You don’t have to buy chicken feed. Your chickens will eat just about any grain you have grown. Store a little in your silo, and feed them from that. Just drive your trailer over and dump some grain into the chicken feed area.
Buy the Cheapest Pallet Handler – In order to take your Chicken eggs to buyers, you will need to move the egg pallets. So, you will need a pallet handler. You don’t need a fancy pallet handler. Buy the cheap green trailer (Kroger Agroliner PWO 24) and attach the trailer to a tractor. The PWO 24 will work the same as a fancy pallet truck. Just drive right up to pallets, and you can magically load the pallets onto your trailer.
Check Prices Before Selling – If you just harvested some grain, and need to sell ASAP to raise money, check the prices in-game to determine who is paying the most right now. There are usually a few places in town that are buying, and they will usually be offering different amounts.
Watch Prices and Sell at the Best Time – When viewing prices, you can view seasonal price fluctuations. If prices are really bad, then you should wait before selling by storing grain in your silo and produce in your barn. And when the market is better, sell for a nice profit.
Sell Equipment at the Dealer – If you want to sell equipment because you are upgrading, do not sell that equipment through the in game menu. Drive to the Dealer and hand deliver the equipment. You will get about 20% more money for driving stuff there yourself. (The Dealer is the the same store where you pick up purchased equipment).
Don’t buy Seed, Fertilizer, Herbicide, Fuel, etc. from your own farm – It is convenient to purchase this stuff are your farm, but you can save about 20% by driving around town to get the best price. Check the prices in the menu, bookmark the location and drive there. I usually fill up my tractors with fuel any time I drive past the gas station.
Use A.I. Workers if you want – Seeding and Harvesting are time consuming. Don’t be afraid to pay the A.I. workers to do those tedious jobs for you. I usually spray herbicides and spread fertilizers myself though.
Disable A.I. Workers from Refilling anything – Money is tight at first. A.I. workers will want to refill Fuel, Seeds and Fertilizer at your own farm. It will save you money to do this yourself, and buy that stuff from a dealer in town. Disable this in the settings until you are rolling in $$$.
Plant What You Want – When you first start off, you have the machinery to plant and harvest “Grain Crops”, so start with any of these. Grain Crops are: Wheat, Barley, Oats, Canola, Soybeans and Sorghum. You will need different machinery to plant and harvest Grapes, Olives, Sunflowers, Corn and Potatoes, Sugar Beats and Cotton.
I personally like to grow a variety of crops in my fields. But you should do what you want!
Don’t be afraid to Sleep Often – Some days you will wake up and there won’t be anything to do. The crops might still be growing, and don’t need herbicide or fertilizer. The chickens might have food, and there aren’t many eggs to collect. So don’t be afraid to hibernate until the next month. Just go back to bed and skip some time.
Think About Selling Some Machinery – Do you really need 3 tractors? If not, sell one. Use that money for something else.
Think about upgrading you farm implements – Did you know some machinery can do two things at once? The “Pottinger Terrasem C6F” seeder can seed directly – No previous cultivating or plowing is necessary beforehand. This can save you in-game time, and allow you to sell your existing seeder and cultivator if you want. Some planters will work the same way. Spend some time looking at new machinery in the store, sell your old stuff, and upgrade.
Buy the Cheapest Fields for your money – Break out your calculator and figure out the best fields for your money. Divide the cost of the land by the acreage, and get yourself a good value. Driving a little out of your way might be worth it!
Have Fun! – Farming Simulator 23 is YOUR SANDBOX. Want to run a Dairy Farm? Work towards that. Want to plant and harvest grapes? Go for it! Don’t feel like you are shoehorned into repeating what others are doing. Do what you want within your own little sandbox, and just have fun. 😉
