[Ground Working 101] Introduction to Fields

Welcome to your introduction of fields in the Farming Simulator Academy! Today, we show you what you need to know about fields and farmland. We go more in-depth in the following lessons. Let’s take a look at the basics, now.

Field Information

When standing on a field, you see context-sensitive information in the lower right corner of your screen. 

"Owned by" shows you if the field is yours or not. If it’s not, you have to buy the field from the farmland screen. Otherwise, you can’t use it.

The "crop type" displayed is currently growing on the field. When buying a new field, you might take over already planted crops.

"Growth" indicates in what state the field and sown crops are at the moment. 

"Yield bonus" shows how much more yield you will gain with the harvest. It depends on various yield improvement factors like fertilizing, weeding, or mulching.

"Fertilized" tells you how much fertilizer is applied to the field. You can fertilize up to two times until it reaches 100%.

"Weed" tells you the level of weed growth on the field and which machinery is used to get rid of it. There are different stages of weed growth: small, medium & large. 

The field info also tells you if liming or ploughing is necessary to gain full yield. 

Map Information

Open the menu and take a look at the map. On the right, you can see various filters providing you with important information.

Crop types filter are visualized in different colors, so you can keep track of which field is growing what.

The growth filter indicates the state of the fields, and the crops if they have been planted. 

The soil composition filter tells you if you need to remove weed, fertilize, plow, or lime the field as indicated by the respective colors.

Buying & Modifying Fields

By opening the farmland screen, you get an overview over all the fields. Which ones are yours and which ones are available to buy. You can also sell fields if you need money for other investments.

You can also combine or enlarge fields. If adjacent fields are in your possession, and not separated by roads or other kinds of infrastructure, you can use a plow to create new fields or merge them by plowing the space in between. You have to activate the “create fields” function of your plow to do that. That also allows you to enlarge your fields if you need more space for your crops.

• When buying new fields, try to buy fields close to each other. You save time traveling with your machinery.
• You should also pay attention if there are trees in the field you want to buy. Forestry equipment, to get rid of them, is expensive.
• Working a field that’s longer than wider also saves you time, since you have to do fewer turns. 
• Use the ridge marker when available. It creates a track for you to follow. Center your vehicle on those tracks to make sure you get perfect spacing between the rows. It's available for seeders and some direct seeders.

Well done!

Congratulations, you now know the most important facts about fields. Take your time and start on the next lesson, when you’re ready. Stay with the Farming Simulator Academy and you become a top-notch virtual farmer in no time!