What are you all doing on your farms?

[PrincessJessi84]

I needed a vacation from the big farms. I was on an endless loop of mowing on griffin and sosnovka has quickly become overwhelming due to the volume of tasks needing done between productions, animals, greenhouses and the lot of fields I have aquired.
So Osada it is. I have just the starting farm with the single field. Running the little JD from giants (due to the cost and having 50hp its quickly becoming a staple for me), the Vistula KZB-3 harvester, a conventional baler, the little fertilizer spreader from the kabota mod pack, the tiny jd sprayer for weeds and the bigger kabota atv and an atv trailer. There really isn't much to do yet but I just pulled a canola harvest up and I am hoping to maybe be able to afford a couple cows for the barn this year or next. It is such a beautifully detailed map and the field sizes are about right for me. Very small farming with the chance to upgrade to small farming lol.
My other 2 saves are still going full swing, I just needed a break from all those big fields and machines. Farm on a scale for awhile that my poor water logged brain can keep up with.

[richnshaz]

A took a wee break from game for a few weeks but watched lots off videos on you tube for ideas i always struggled with landscape side of the game .
Now am back on Greenland’s and loving it built a large quarry down the bottom of the map took a fair bit off time but looks great .got rid off all the hedges and plowed all the boundaries and made new roads and fences .took my time and built few farms and few productions not to many as I feel you get overwhelmed with too many but got my farm running well and self sufficient as possible and made it look as British as much as I could and only planted crops for the uk and think I’ve done a not too shabby job being on ps5 .one thing I’ve done different is took away auto load trailers was taken the fun away for me.

[Frozen Catalyst]

I’m back on Erlengrat, after a few seasons in the UK.

Have tried building my own farm up, each contract brings in some more money for those landscaping costs…

Currently making a mix, before some winter forestry.

[paul_c]

I started out (ages ago) at Elmcreek on Easy settings, but then tried Erlengrat on hard. Then Calmsden Farm mod arrived and went full-immersion into that (on hard too). I too like the idea of further "restrictions" to increase the realism and close some of the loopholes like buy-harvest-sell land (which is a licence to print money) and loans etc. I got well into analysing costs quite deeply and some of my previous threads show this.

After a break, I'm back and on Old Stream Farm. Concious of the previous plays, I've set similar rules (eg no buy-harvest-sell, don't abuse contracts and nick all the grass to silage, etc) but also this time, not given too much thought on financial analysis or chasing the last £. So I've done a little silage then moved on, done a few contracts then moved on. etc. Currently living in a caravan, one small tractor, one small trailer, just bought a sprayer and that's about it for equipment. But I have some land.

Interested to hear others' self imposed realism rules, not got too many mods loaded, mainly extra bits of equipment to fill the gaps from the original game.

[Dan279]

	I started out (ages ago) at Elmcreek on Easy settings, but then tried Erlengrat on hard. Then Calmsden Farm mod arrived and went full-immersion into that (on hard too). I too like the idea of further "restrictions" to increase the realism and close some of the loopholes like buy-harvest-sell land (which is a licence to print money) and loans etc. I got well into analysing costs quite deeply and some of my previous threads show this. After a break, I'm back and on Old Stream Farm. Concious of the previous plays, I've set similar rules (eg no buy-harvest-sell, don't abuse contracts and nick all the grass to silage, etc) but also this time, not given too much thought on financial analysis or chasing the last £. So I've done a little silage then moved on, done a few contracts then moved on. etc. Currently living in a caravan, one small tractor, one small trailer, just bought a sprayer and that's about it for equipment. But I have some land. Interested to hear others' self imposed realism rules, not got too many mods loaded, mainly extra bits of equipment to fill the gaps from the original game.

These are the rules I play by now, you should try them out as well, makes for fun and frustrating times all at the same time.

LOANS
-start with $20k loan
-cannot take a new loan until the previous loan is paid completely
-loans only for farmland
-new loan can only be for 80% of the cost a new parcel of land (rounded down to the nearest $5k increment)
-aside from the initial $20k loan, must pay $5k principal payment monthly in addition to interest deducted automatically (optional see MORE THAN 1 DAY PER MONTH)

CONTRACTS
-no borrowing equipment
-must complete as close to the entire job as possible (even if the contract is complete)
-no cheating (e.g., using the lowest fertilizer setting)
-can only accept new contracts between 7 am and 7 pm, but can turn in contracts at any time
-once accepted, contracts can only be canceled with a good reason (e.g., a game bug)

LEASING
-once leased, a vehicle cannot be returned until 12 months have passed
-at 12 months you can return the vehicle or continue lease for another 12 months
-returned vehicles must be repaired to 100%
-a leased vehicle can be returned early only if the same vehicle is immediately purchased new
-tools like wagons, cultivators, plows, seeders, and planters etc.. must be leased for 12 months
-tools like soil sampler front loader, skid steer tools etc.. must be leased for 24hrs
-use your judgment on the 12 month or 24hr rules

WORLD
-obey all traffic laws
-minimal teleporting (e.g. teleport to fix a stuck ai driver then return)
-must rest minimum 8 hours per night

STORES
-only open 7 am - 7 pm
-new purchases must be made in person
-used purchases can be made remotely
-purchases must be picked up in a timely manner (same day at latest)
-repairs require vehicle to be left at repair location for 1 hour per 5% damage repaired, round up

FARM
-one fruit type per silo
-perishable goods must be sold daily (milk, eggs, greenhouse output unless put in cold storage)
-silage bales cannot be pierced while fermenting
-unwrapped bales must be under cover before sleeping
-cannot transport goods uncovered in the rain

ANIMALS
-must always keep animals fed and watered
-purchases/sales must be transported manually (except chickens)

PRODUCTIONS
-no automatic distribution
-automatic selling only allowed for productions that could sell to customers directly (e.g., the bakery)

GAME SETTINGS
-hard economy
-6x game speed (optional see NOTES)
-1 month per day (optional see NOTES)
-no ai purchases
-weeds, stones, plowing all enabled

DAILY DEDUCTIONS
-$1000 per Month for Rent at Motel or Campground
-$1000 per Month for Personal Expenses
-$500 per Month for use of Shed at Vehicle Dealer

MORE THAN 1 DAY PER MONTH
-Limit 1 Contract Per Month

NOTES
-Game speed is up to player however suggested minimum is 3x
-Days per month suggested minimum 3x for Maize Plus users and better weather patterns like more snow accumulation etc..
-Gameplay mods and vehicle/implement mods are up to player but may increase progression
-Rules are to slow progression

[Frozen Catalyst]

I like role play.
The general rules I try and follow are:

- use equipment that would available in the locality of the map
- not use oversize equipment vs field size
- buy used equipment
- only buy new equipment from the brands at the dealership (sometimes not possible, so I use equipment that are popular for the area)
- use a daily deduction mod to simulate living costs
- only one AI helper at a time to simulate a family farm, unless I lease equipment for a contract then I simulate a neighbour helping etc. no tabbing between unless necessary to assist AI.
- sleep a minimum of 6 hrs a night
- try and do most loading etc by hand and not auto load.
- cab view!

The amount of land I farm is dictated by the amount of real time I have to play and the size of equipment. So on Calmsden I had three times the land than Erlengrat, as I used ~8m vs 3m implements.

Most of the time I run 5x and 2day months. Smaller farms I might do 10x 4-5day months. But I’m still working out what gives me the most feel of progression through the months.

EDIT: I might have to try some of those listed above.

One economy rule I use is that each year I roll a die and if 1-2 then easy, 3-4 set to medium, and 5-6 hard, in an attempt to somewhat reflect more major market fluctuations.

[Spardose]

I like the idea of throwing a dice. Throwing one before harvest could simulate a bad or good harvest just by adjusting the econemy and by this your earnings. Since you always harvest the same amount you would simply get payed less and thus simulate a rather bad year for your crops.

[Wyldesystem]

I needed a vacation from the big farms. I was on an endless loop of mowing on griffin and sosnovka has quickly become overwhelming due to the volume of tasks needing done between productions, animals, greenhouses and the lot of fields I have aquired.
So Osada it is. I have just the starting farm with the single field. Running the little JD from giants (due to the cost and having 50hp its quickly becoming a staple for me), the Vistula KZB-3 harvester, a conventional baler, the little fertilizer spreader from the kabota mod pack, the tiny jd sprayer for weeds and the bigger kabota atv and an atv trailer. There really isn't much to do yet but I just pulled a canola harvest up and I am hoping to maybe be able to afford a couple cows for the barn this year or next. It is such a beautifully detailed map and the field sizes are about right for me. Very small farming with the chance to upgrade to small farming lol.
My other 2 saves are still going full swing, I just needed a break from all those big fields and machines. Farm on a scale for awhile that my poor water logged brain can keep up with.

I had same issue.....im doing some logging now and no farming.........now that my logs dont end up on jupiter when using the forestry machines......

[PrincessJessi84]

I have been farming about still on Osada. I bought the neighboring farm only to realize the buildings had been sealed properly from the inside and couldn't be used so I hired a company called GE to take the buildings down and away for S15k. According to the foreman even the fences seemed like they were set in reinforced concrete. What a headache that was. But my fleet has grown. Still rocking that old harvester but I added a new to me, Unimog U1200 to the fleet this year and got a couple tillage tools to match the 125hp now available to me with my eye on a bigger seeder as my fields grow but for now I am saving for a bigger sprayer. Got a grass field and a couple new small fields. The grass field has a lot higher yield potential than the others I own according to the folks I pay to test my land so I might swap around a bit. I have mostly been growing cereal crops for the lower yield and making a fair bit off the straw too. I have waited to see if a tedder comes up for sale but I found an old one that I might pick up if the price is right. I have helped a few of my neighbors out with jobs and made some extra money for the farm. Just a couple cultivation jobs and a small harvest (not so small with my harvester) but it was still a welcomed something.
To be honest, I am just waiting (not real patiently) for the dlc in a few days. Then I will probably move to the forest and settle down into the quiet life of a logger/part time farmer for awhile. If it's anything like or better than Elmcreek, I expect to clock in somewhere around 500+ hours on the map. I'm pretty excited.

[NewHollandLegend]

I always have rules in place for myself as well. I always max out the loan at the start and use that money only for land. I sell off all the starting equipment and will buy all the necessary equipment for what kind of farmer I want to be, mainly dairy and pigs lol. I will only lease my tractors and harvesters for a set number of 3 years. After those 3 years I will have an option to buy it or lease another vehicle. My end goal is to pay off the entire loan and own every plot of land and I currently have 200 hours on griffin Indiana playing on the PS5. I am actively searching for a new map but can’t make my mind up of where to go…
Happy Farming

[paul_c]

Its a shame there's no realism options for machines, for example:

- Running a tedder (or many other items) backwards instantly breaks it and requires a trip to the workshop, for say £500
- Too high an angle on anything with a PTO smashes it, machine stops, need to visit workshop and money.
Similar with headers into hedges/trees, etc.

[iwan073]

Haven’t really played the game in months.
But I will start a new game on the new map tonight… if it releases as 0:00.
Otherwise tomorrow morning

[Ls_2011]

Its a shame there's no realism options for machines, for example:

- Running a tedder (or many other items) backwards instantly breaks it and requires a trip to the workshop, for say £500
- Too high an angle on anything with a PTO smashes it, machine stops, need to visit workshop and money.
Similar with headers into hedges/trees, etc.

One thing with the PTO rule, wide angle PTO's exist and you can have them running about at 70-80 degrees to the machine