hay/grass production dilemma

[Warnetenthusiast]

There's many different angles to this seemingly simple game mechanic but the issue is the consumption to abundance ratio on this resource in the game is difficult.

What's keeping me from expanding my stock of farm animals is my intention to produce all my own hay without depending on buying hay from Marnie (except in winter) or having to buy grass starters from the town shop.

Does the game intend for you to have to buy hay or grass patches to sustain a good stock of hay in your silo? It seems this way because fiber is not very abundant in the valley, and 10 are required for a patch of grass (and yes i know the patches multiply if you let them sit for days)

Sometimes grass does pop up naturally but its not nearly enough, except in the winter to spring transition when its everywhere.

One solution is constantly going to the mine several times per week and going to the levels that have the most fiber patches - but that takes ALL day and i feel like farming grass should not be that laborious/time-consuming in the game.

I also haven't been everywhere in the game so i don't know if there is some sanctuary with abundant grass/fiber.

Not looking for any walkthroughs or spoilers, I know i can just google this issue and cheat my way towards a solution, but i do wonder whether hay sustainability was intentionally made difficult or I just need to discover a better way.

[Buffmania]

You probably just need to refine your grass cutting methods. You'll want to maximize the growth of existing grass tufts and be careful that you don't get too greedy when it's time to cut that hay.

Also, don't worry too much about having to buy hay as the basic animal produce will always cover the hay costs and processing the produce or selling higher quality produce will always gain a profit.

[Warnetenthusiast]

Originally posted by Buffmania:

You probably just need to refine your grass cutting methods. Also, don't worry too much about having to buy hay as the basic animal produce will always cover the hay costs and processing the produce or selling higher quality produce will always gain a profit.

I know it's not a money issue at all, it's just a matter of wanting to produce all of my own animal feed (i know it's possible, it just seems way too time consuming)

So it sounds you are of the opinion that the game wants you to depend on Marnie for hay?

[Rayquandia]

Originally posted by GrinningSoul:

Originally posted by Buffmania:

You probably just need to refine your grass cutting methods. Also, don't worry too much about having to buy hay as the basic animal produce will always cover the hay costs and processing the produce or selling higher quality produce will always gain a profit.

I know it's not a money issue at all, it's just a matter of wanting to produce all of my own animal feed (i know it's possible, it just seems way too time consuming)

So it sounds you are of the opinion that the game wants you to depend on Marnie for hay?

You could also try planting alot of Fiber season and then making the hay patches, as i think you can get unlimited of those seeds

[Warnetenthusiast]

Originally posted by Rayquandia:

Originally posted by GrinningSoul:

I know it's not a money issue at all, it's just a matter of wanting to produce all of my own animal feed (i know it's possible, it just seems way too time consuming)

So it sounds you are of the opinion that the game wants you to depend on Marnie for hay?

You could also try planting alot of Fiber season and then making the hay patches, as i think you can get unlimited of those seeds

the recipe for growing fiber didn't exactly jump out to me as a shortcut, it just seemed like another step towards an overly difficult and time-consuming process to produce all your own hay.

I know i'm getting really nerdy about this but hay is the most peculiar and challenging product to self-sustain in the game, so its fascinating to me.

[Stardustfire]

sounds like you never stumbled about the cave at the quandry. golden scythe is key...

[Warnetenthusiast]

Originally posted by Stardustfire:

sounds like you never stumbled about the cave at the quandry. golden scythe is key...

thanks, but say no more. i want to find it organically

[Dimensional Traveler]

Well I don't think you should rely on hay alone. For spring, summer and fall let your animals out to graze on the grass. You should only "need" hay for rainy days and winter and technically even then it isn't required since your animals won't starve to death. They will just become unhappy and need grass and attention to raise their heart levels again.

[TamanduaGirl]

How many animals do you have? I have more hay and grass than I ever need and I play on the smaller broken up maps, river and hilltop farms on different saves).

[Warnetenthusiast]

Originally posted by TamanduaGirl:

How many animals do you have? I have more hay and grass than I ever need and I play on the smaller broken up maps, river and hilltop farms on different saves).

I wonder how you do it.

[Super Arthritis ⁧⁧ ⁧⁧Man]

Wheat crops give you hay too.

[TamanduaGirl]

Originally posted by GrinningSoul:

Originally posted by TamanduaGirl:

How many animals do you have? I have more hay and grass than I ever need and I play on the smaller broken up maps, river and hilltop farms on different saves).

I wonder how you do it.

Get at least 2 silos if you have a lot of animals. 1's enough for just a few. Leave grass where the animals can easily get to it to eat. Pigs are the only ones that might eat more than one tile of grass. I leave the coop and barn door always open. There's no penalty for that but if they are locked inside in the morning they might eat food before you let them out.

Outside of where the animals eat harvest grass regularly for hay all year long leaving bits to regrow. You should easily fill 2 silos well before years end. If there's lots of grass already on the ground last day of fall then it will regrow in the spring. I made the mistake early of harvesting right before winter before then you need to use starters. When you fill the silos early while you run around doing other stuff then you wont need to harvest it all in the fall and plenty of grass will regrow.

I'm also not a fancy farm designer so I wind up with a lot of still "wild" area to have grass in. But the more trees and logs and rocks you remove the more tiles you will have for grass. You can harvest all those other things in the forest in abundance so just leave a large field space on the farm. I can fill 2 silos by mid year easily.

[Maya-Neko]

The grass is mostly balanced in a way, that only small animal areas can sustain themselves, but if you get like 50+ animals, then it starts to get quite hard, if you don't reduce the area of other parts of your farm (especially crops). That's just the payoff, if you focus more on profit than sustainability.

As for growing it yourself, there's a helpful feature: You can place an object like a fence or a lighting rod over a patch of grass, preventing animals from eating it, so technically it is an infinite grass dispenser.

[Snowy Sprout]

Obviously if not buying hay is an important limitation to you, then I won't argue. Limitations are half my gameplay! But fwiw, all animals are still profitable (even before refining their products), even if you do pay for their feed from Marnie.

Also, very much agree with what Maya-Neko said (in black) above. That is how I always feed my animals.

[Alice]

I'm on the beach farm with only a small area for sprinklers, so I planted lots of maple trees with flooring between them for easy and passive income from the syrup, but no grass will grow there and I didn't have enough for my animals. I can either remove trees, use starter grass or have fewer animals. I won't buy hay.

[Snowy Sprout]

Originally posted by Alice:

I'm on the beach farm with only a small area for sprinklers, so I planted lots of maple trees with flooring between them for easy and passive income from the syrup, but no grass will grow there and I didn't have enough for my animals. I can either remove trees, use starter grass or have fewer animals. I won't buy hay.

I think there's a misunderstanding... grass doesn't need sprinklers at all, and will grow with or without rain in any area of the beach farm.