Are farmers supposed to be so slow?

[ensiferumviking]

Seems like farmer's AI is really dumb or they're just slow... not sure if I have things set up wrong. Feel like I have to do 90% of the farming myself or it just doesn't get done. Is there a way to keep the AI more streamlined? They seem to frequently just stop doing their jobs and wander off, then do a little bit of something else for a while or maybe even just stand in the barn. :/

[lmill1]

They are just rude.

[Philtre]

Farmers work more slowly than the player, but they should work pretty consistently during the day as long as they have all the tools and materials they need. Note that they begin and end their day in the barn, so they will be standing around there for a bit in the morning and evening. If they are taking breaks at other times, double-check to make sure they aren't missing something.

One thing that it's common to unexpectedly run short on is fertilizer, because they want to fertilize a field right after it's been harvested, to get it ready for the next planting, even if it's not going to get replanted for several seasons. So you need enough fertilizer to cover the fields that are fallow, and not just the ones that are currently cultivated.

[ensiferumviking]

Originally posted by Philtre:

Farmers work more slowly than the player, but they should work pretty consistently during the day as long as they have all the tools and materials they need. Note that they begin and end their day in the barn, so they will be standing around there for a bit in the morning and evening. If they are taking breaks at other times, double-check to make sure they aren't missing something.

One thing that it's common to unexpectedly run short on is fertilizer, because they want to fertilize a field right after it's been harvested, to get it ready for the next planting, even if it's not going to get replanted for several seasons. So you need enough fertilizer to cover the fields that are fallow, and not just the ones that are currently cultivated.

What's the verdict on crop rotation? Is it more effort than it's worth? For example I'm trying to have one field be oat in the spring & summer rye in the autum & winter. But maybe its more effective with managing the AI to just have double the size field that rests half the year.

[lmill1]

There are drawbacks to both strategies. If you rotate you have to change the fields every Autumn and Spring and that can be a pain. If you have fields dedicated to rye and to oats they are only productive once a year. Your choice.

[radtazman]

sowing, fertilizing, harvesting, plowing should all be at the same pace. they are not.

[joshakawingnut]

are there any walkthroughs or anything current on how to actually set up your people to do the farming for you? i cant get anyone to farm so ive just been doing it myself but i would like to have more time to do other things seeing as my farm is getting bigger because i need more stuff. any help would be much appreciated

[Morri]

Originally posted by joshakawingnut:

are there any walkthroughs or anything current on how to actually set up your people to do the farming for you? i cant get anyone to farm so ive just been doing it myself but i would like to have more time to do other things seeing as my farm is getting bigger because i need more stuff. any help would be much appreciated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2C7c3j4Cd4&ab_channel=GoldiAnDrixta

It's a bit outdated, but should give you a good idea how it works.
Some things are slightly different; if you assign a person the barn, the name of the role you should pick is 'farmer'.
They also need tools now to be able to do their job (hoe, bag and sickle/scythe).

[Morri]

One thing to note as well; when the work day starts, your farmers will go first to the barn, and then from the barn to the actual field. They will only start working when they are physically on the field, so make sure their house and barn are close enough to the fields. Otherwise they'll spend their work time travelling to the field, and won't get much/any work done.

[Mr Chill Chill]

First and foremost, you need farmers with a rating of 3+ assigned to work the fields, plenty of bags (not the smaller bags but the larger ones) for fertilizing and planting seeds, and lots of hoes and sickles/scythes. Of course you need lots of fertilizer and seeds as well. Note that the scythes offer double the harvesting speed given their range.

If you have those basic necessities, the trick with farming is to prepare the season before. When you pull up the crop field management screen at the beginning of a season BEFORE workers begin their routine, you'll notice your crops that are to be harvested are in yellow. You can go in and clear out the crops at this point, and all the workers will do is harvest the crops and not waste fertilizer and time until you are ready. The field is already grubbed up, so you can go back in and add the crops later when you're ready for them to fertilize it, and eventually throw seeds down.

I use my Flax field as my Rye field, as Rye can be planted later in the year and harvested so that it doesn't interfere with the flax. Onions, Beetroot, Cabbage, and Carrots I have each as separate fields. Wheat and Oats I have as a shared field.

There can only be so many workers per field doing specific jobs, which is why you have some standing around that can be converted to work in the barn at that point. Only ONE villager can plant seeds per field, so keep this in mind if you have larger fields. Right now I find that playing with a five day season helps a lot. Three days simply isn't enough.

Hope this helps.

[simeon]

Originally posted by Mr Butters 99:

First and foremost, you need farmers with a rating of 3+ assigned to work the fields,[…]

As especially for Field workers, the skill is not taken into the calculation of output/production/field-work-speed.
Hence it does not matter what skill the villager has you want to let work on the fields.
Nevertheless field workers will level their farming skill.