why there is no alfalfa?

[US Farmer 1]

Sorry new to this and did not know where to put it was just wondering why giants has all types of crops to harvest but was just wondering why there is no alfalfa

[Crazof]

just pretend your grass field is alfalfa.

[thumbwiz]

I don't think there's a particular reason other than they just haven't got around to it yet.
New crops are introduced occasionally.

[Shuffy]

can we get hemp too please

[cmdrbyron]

Hello US Farmer 1, welcome to the FS Forums!

It ultimately comes down to a matter of compromise. You are asking about alfalfa, just as many others ask about rice, grapes, etc... The reality is that everything put into the game comes at a cost. Each crop added increases the complexity and thus computational requirements. As a really simple example, look at the minimap, where each crop has a unique colour identifier, and that the Giants Engine breaks down the map into 1 meter x 1 meter resolution cells. It takes a certain amount of time to determine what the ground state is, and if planted, what the crop type is. More crops = more time required to compare the value on the map to the colour legend. Yes, this is an arguably trivial amount of time/processing, but it all adds up, and rather quickly when you consider that a 4km x 4km map contains 16 million individual cells, and each cell which is plowable, is subject to the largest number of potential states.

For a more complex example, consider the price table - each crop type has multiple sell points with individually managed/updated prices, and colour coding applied on top to identify specific trends/prices (red = down, green = up, blue = fixed price for great demand). So for each crop added, the system now needs to process the prices for that crop at each sellpoint, while also accounting for the up/downwards trends and whether or not a great demand exists at each sellpoint.

Now consider the graphical implications, requiring multiple in-game textures (planted crop with multiple growth stages, harvested material in harvesters/haulage).

If you are on PC, keep your eyes out on forthcoming mods. Many mods add additional crop types, and alfalfa was included in a few mod maps in the previous iteration. For FS17, the Platinum DLC added SugarCane as a new crop type too!

If you really want to have alfalfa in your gameplay experience, consider using your imagination and substitute it for one of the other existing crops (i.e Anywhere the game says "Oats", it means "Alfalfa" to you). Your gameplay experience is what you make of it.

[US Farmer 1]

Thanks I thought it was complex but u really broke that down for me

[TaintedBlackCat]

So..where'd we land on hemp?

[Seedy]

So..where'd we land on hemp?

So how would you do that, use a forage harvester and sell the chop at a paper mill?

[eric21]

So..where'd we land on hemp?

It's industrial hemp used as fuel

[redglasses]

Alfalfa wound be pretty cool. Maybe in the big middle dlc for this game.

[Cmtaylor]

So..where'd we land on hemp?

It's industrial hemp used as fuel

Bio gas plant

[Jaygoe]

Jackie Mason put the mockers on it