Yield keeps dropping (FS15)

[Kuroyuki]

Hi all!! I am new to the forum, and also new to farming simulators. I never played one before, but was very curious. Since I didn't know if I would like them, I went for an old copy of FS15 on the Xbox One that I found on a last samples sale, and I must say I am really enjoying it, it's a very relaxing experience!!

There is one thing I have noticed, and I can't figure out what's going on... I have been experimenting with different seeds, only just started to get into corn, I have upgraded to newer equipment, bought new land, trying out the difference between sprayers and spreaders, etc., but there is one problem I can't seem to solve, and that is after a number of harvests on a field, the yield goes down to about half all of a sudden, and I can't seem to get it back up. I've tried ploughing to see if the land needed a "turning over", sticking to a single particular seed on one field, all that, but the yield just stays down. Basically, a field I would have to make 2 trips with the 21000L tipper to finish suddenly can be finished in a single tipper with the same seed, fertilized and everything

I've tried googling and all that to find an answer, like if I am doing something wrong or if it's how it's supposed to work after some time for a while, but can't find the answer. I don't know if it's a game mechanic where as you advance and get better equipment, the game gets harder automatically or something...

I would appreciate if anyone would have any answer to offer, as I am really enjoying it so far and it has me considering getting into a newer version of the simulator, but this particular thing has me a little frustrated.

Thanks!!

[DirectCedar]

I recognize that you state "same seeds", but are you actually growing the same crop when you are comparing yields? Different crops have large discrepancies in their volumetric yield. Unrealistically, "seed" is the same input for every crop, and you just select what type of crop the seed is supposed to represent (which it then grows into).

Otherwise I am not aware of any mechanic in the console version of 15 that would create a variation in yield of the same crop, assuming it was fertilized the same.

[adammac5858]

Yeah, the yield for say, wheat is much higher than the yield for soybeans; that is volume wise. Typically crops with less yield offer a higher sale price in game, ie: soybeans. I get more yield from wheat and barley, but it sells for less. I donno if that makes sense or not.

Are you planting the same crop in the same field? Crop rotation will cause a loss effect. I don't think it is 50% though.

[Kuroyuki]

When I compared, it was the same crop, specifically comparing canola. But I have grown other crops in those same fields. The problem is, it wasn't like growing canola, then going to wheat, and as soon as I changed to canola it lost yield. For example, one field I have a little further from my silo, I started with canola, then one of barley, then a wheat, then a canola again, and found that because of the distance to empty the tipper it was better to stick to canola as it yields less than the other two... So I would use that field just for canola, planting, using the fertilizer, and then harvesting. But on the third or fourth roubd of just sticking to canola, I noticed a huge difference in the yield. I tried ploughing to see if that helped before cultivating, but the yield remained low. And this has been the same with all the fields with all different crops.

Should I have stuck to just one crop per field all the time? Is that what it is? I've played for about 40 hours so far, "noobing about" mainly, learning how certain things work and such, reading forums, so if it's best for me to start again from the beginning with just one type of crop per field then fair enough, I know this is a "long haul" game, much like any simulator... But obviously, the question is if this is the reason for it, and if to avoid starting again, is there anything I can do to "fix" the fields like leaving them a time with nothing...

Thanks!!

[this_is_gav]

You're not confusing yield with profit, are you? The price crops sell for varies wildly, so check the prices of different sellpoints to ensure you're getting a good price. If none offer a good price then store your crops until the price of that crop increases (you'll soon learn what a good price is for each crop - keep in mind that for wheat and barley you can also sell straw).



There is no benefit to crop rotation in any of the games other than adding a bit variation. The only exception to that is FS19 with the Seasons mod (which adds bonuses for properly managed crop rotation).

As far as I remember FS15 was just a single pass of fertiliser (no difference between solid or liquid) so as long as you're doing that then you're maximising your yield. There are mods (such as SoilMod) which can alter yields, but if you're not playing with any of those mods then you're guaranteed maximum yield if you're adding fertiliser.

There are no bonuses for ploughing in FS15 (that was added in FS17 along with multiple fertiliser states, with lime also added in FS19).

[Kuroyuki]

No, I am going by litres, by how much a particular crop on a particular field fills up a tipper, how often I have to empty a particular size harvester with a particular crop on a particular field...

The supply and demand factor of pricing is why I had been changing from one crop to another

Well... I have just bought a new field, I have decided to start from scratch with corn which I have just gotten the stuff for, and I will stick to corn on that field and see what happens...

No mods being used, as I'm on console, although I have bought the DLC and mod packs and stuff as I am really enjoying it.

Anyway, thank you very much for your answers, I'll keep an eye on how things go

[DirectCedar]

Are you planting the same crop in the same field? Crop rotation will cause a loss effect. I don't think it is 50% though.

Crop rotation effect on the console version of FS15? I don't recall that in any way.

My recollection of "agronomy" from 15 through 19 is exactly how this_is_gav describes it above. Crop rotation was not coded to have any effect until Seasons 19 introduced it for the first time. Soilmod in 15 did introduce some other agronomic effects, but that mod was only available on PC.

I am stumped what would cause yield of any crop to vary on the console version of 15. The only factor that should impact yield in that case, to the best of my knowledge, is fertilization.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

From what I remember of 15 yield was black and white predictable. You plant X you get back Y every time.
Maybe Giants planted a time bomb bug in the 15 that would keep dropping yield in December of 2019 so that you would go out and buy a new game!

[adammac5858]

I wasn't even thinking about FS15 even though it is in the title. My apologies.

[Kuroyuki]

Well... this is strange... I just bought the JCB DLC pack, and I doubt it has anything to do with it, but, yields seem to be back to normal! I'm wondering if it was a glitch or something, like I was fertilising, but it wasn't "registering" as having fertilised or something like that, because I have had a couple of times small graphic glitches too on long gaming sessions where I have basically had to reboot the console to get rid of them. So... I don't know, but then again, when it comes to Microsoft, anything's possible ¬¬

I am considering FS19, but I will probably leave it for later now, because I've gotten the gold expansion DLC, the New Holland, Lambo and JCB DLCs, basically I have all the DLCs except for two, as it's December, and the nieces and nephews can be a little demanding on your purse

I tend to get into things when I am ready for them, not when they come out, and with all I have bought for FS15, I want to get my money's worth. Besides, by the time I'm ready to advance, there might be a new one out. I got FS15 because it was one of those that I had never tried, seemed to be a game I would like as in relaxing, and at the same time enjoyable, but didn't know for sure, so the idea of spending a lot for a brand new game that might not "click" with me seemed a little wasteful, especially when you are on a budget. And yes, I know PC has probably a much better experience, but with health issues and such, it's not very comfortable on a PC, where as on the console sitting on the bed is much more comfortable (like I put the game in first time at 4pm, and when I noticed the time again it was 5am!! That's how absorbed I was!!), and it just works better for me for my circumstances. Now I know I like this genera of game, I can get something newer later on with confidence in my purchase.

And it is a good learning experience, which, I know many things will change from one version to another, but like for example I am trying out corn right now, and it seems quite cumbersome. You have to cultivate before seeding as the seeders don't seem to have the cultivator built in, the headers are smaller than their wheat/barley/canola counterparts so it requires either a larger machine to manage a larger header better, or simply a lot more time at it, it yields less than wheat and also gets less money... it seems like a crop for if you are looking for a bit more of a challenge within the same game save, but not so practical for "chilling out" sessions.

One thing that seems strange, and I don't know if it's to do with difficulty setting (I started on easy, I was new to it, I didn't want to be overwhelmed with too much, and now, to change difficulty I would have to start a new game it seems... although the DLC gave me a new map to try out...), but when I did each part of the tutorial, for example, the wheat field, I harvested, and it left straw behind it, which I didn't have the implements to collect it or the money to buy the machinery needed, so when I cultivated, it disappeared... but since then I'm not getting anything left behind like straw, only grass leaving anything behind to collect. The particle animation out of the back of the harvester is also different, being straw falling out the bottom the first time, and every time after that first harvest, more like a spray that is blown out the back of the harvester that just disappears. I'll start a new game in normal mode, see if that changes, maybe the game gives you "less things to worry about" on easy setting, like also, I noticed, if the seeder is empty, it will still seed as if it is full and gives the same yield as when you go down to fill it. But, anyway, little things to try out...

I found canola to be the best crop for the further away fields, as although it yields less, the prices are much higher generally, so it works out the same money per harvest, but, it means less trips between the field and my storage silo per harvest, which, now I have a couple of nice big New Holland harvesters with 45ft heads, and a couple of big 59000L trailers with 400+HP tractors (a Case that I got on sale, and a New Holland because I liked the tracks it had on the back instead of just wheels) and their respective dollies, the trips are just 2 on a large field I made by joining 2 already rather large fields together, and the same tractor/tipper setup is great for when it comes to selling when a place puts a high price due to demand...

59 hours in, and I am really enjoying this, I never thought it would hook me as much as it did!!

[DirectCedar]

I'll add that wheat and barley allow you to drop straw (for baling or other collection). The other crops do not.

[this_is_gav]

Also for the record all the in-game crops are identical to each other in terms of yield:profit at the average price point. For example all of the cereal crops (wheat and barley, and oats for FS19) are identical to each other but have a worse yeild:profit ratio than the likes of canola or corn. However both wheat and barley become vastly more profitable than the other crops if you sell the straw too, though of course that involves more work and more machinery and you can't hire workers for those tasks.

Canola and corn (and soybeans and sunflowers in FS17+) are also identical to each other, as I believe potatoes and sugar beet are too.

FS17 and FS19 allows you to be a bit more more involved in field management and include maps to keep track of it all! For example in FS17 you can choose whether ploughing occasionally is a requirement to maximise yield and there is also the option of fertilising up to three stages (both can be turned off in the options). FS19 introduced options for weeds (requiring the spraying of herbicide), the need for lime and ploughing after root crops, while fertiliser stages are fixed at two.

FS17 also introduced the option for hired workers to stop as soon as they run out of seed or fertiliser, or they can continue buying fertiliser as they go, though it costs much more that way.

If you're enjoying playing FS15 then there's no point in upgrading too soon. We're probably a year away from FS21, so unless you find FS19 on a great offer, then I wouldn't bother upgrading now unless you really start to feel you're missing things. FS17 introduced mods for consoles, so for future versions you can also expand the game with new maps (some of which are vastly better than the in-game maps) and new equipment.

If you are to consider the PC version of the game in the future then keep in mind you can also connect it to your TV and use an XBox/PlayStation controller with it, so it can be just as relaxing as console, though of course you'll need to use a keyboard and a mouse occasionally (compact wireless ones would be fine for FS though). PCs have the advantage over consoles of better graphics (depending on the PC), script mods (which can change the game and add more information for example) and mods of brands not included in the game, though as of FS19 all of the major international brands are in the game anyway.

[Kuroyuki]

I'll have a look about that activating the straw to come out again, I didn't realise it's something you have to activate.

Yeah, it seems the even years the game comes out on mobile devices, and the odd years on PC and console, so maybe a 2020 one will come out on Switch, you never know (not that I have one), but yeah, I think I have plenty to keep me occupied till 2021,what with the new Flight Simulator also coming out next year, not to mention the back catalogue of games I have already on shelves from the Atari 2600 onwards...

Graphics isn't something that bothers me much if the controls response and gameplay is good, and that's something I have found with FS15, because FS19 is graphically very beautifully done, much more superior, but the already good gameplay of FS15 makes it great in spite of npt being quite so advanced, albeit still very impressive in its own right. If it's a simple texture that something looks a little off then I don't have a problem, but the glitches I was getting was with artifact "walls" appearing out of the top of a tractor for example all the way tp the top of the screen that you couldn't see where you were going, and you move the camera a bit and it would go, but move a little more and it would be back, so it affected gameplay, but, out of 59 hours of gameplay it's happened twice, and that was like after 10 hours of constant playing. I will be opening my console later on to change the hard drive to a larger one, and I'll probably take advantage of opening it to change the thermal paste on the heatsink to som Arctic Cooling goo, just to keep things running well, although the console doesn't even get warm on long sessions of FS15, so it might just be a need for "cleaning" the RAM with a reboot, or maybe the console's way of telling me I should get a life!!

Anyway, thanks everyone for this chitchat, seems like you have a great community on this forum!!

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Also for the record all the in-game crops are identical to each other in terms of yield:profit at the average price point. For example all of the cereal crops (wheat and barley, and oats for FS19) are identical to each other but have a worse yeild:profit ratio than the likes of canola or corn. However both wheat and barley become vastly more profitable than the other crops if you sell the straw too, though of course that involves more work and more machinery and you can't hire workers for those tasks.

Canola and corn (and soybeans and sunflowers in FS17+) are also identical to each other, as I believe potatoes and sugar beet are too.

Yields are similar, not identical.
This came off Reddit it isn't mine and I would say I wouldn't even burn imaginary diesel to sell crops at some of these prices. Beans for instance I sell between $2.2 and $3.5. They are not worth growing if you are only selling for $1.5

[Illinois Farmer]

That chart is for fs19 and gav's post is referring to fs15.