Farming Simulator – Getting Through the First Hours

For many people, Farming Simulator 2017 can be some what intimidating, and for good reason – there is a lot to think about, a lot to know, and often, multiple ways to do any one given job. I’ve always felt this series has been harder to attach to then other simulator titles, but I managed, and here is how!

Initially, your first few hours within the game will be limited by the funds you have and getting those first crops into the ground and grown. Through the tutorial, you will harvest, fertilize, plow, and sow – you will want to rinse and repeat this on all three of your initial fields.

Once you’ve gone back over it all again, cultivating the soil after harvesting, planting seeds, and fertilizing, you should begin roaming around the map doing odd jobs for other farmers. The longer the job takes, the more money you will get in the end. Remember, the faster you do it, the bigger the time bonus. Doing these jobs fast enough will often yield a time bonus equal to the amount the job pays. For reference, a job scheduled to take 110 minutes can be finished in 50-60 minutes, netting you around $100,000 for that job.

The next factor that will determine how you play the game is your in game clock. I generally play in real time, between 6 AM and 6 PM, and 120x over night. I also have my crop growing on fast. Once your farm is “on the go,” explore, earn money, and perhaps begin looking at farming equipment for future endeavors. I started earning money early on to purchase a hay wagon, bailing machine, and forks for my front end loader. I also purchased a beet field, which means investing in tons of other new equipment unique for harvesting root crops.

With the money you have, and on real time, you have the ability to play around and see what works. There is no need to worry about what’s happening on your farm 24/7, so take 20 minutes of real time – and in game time – to play around with purchases, familiarize yourself with the equipment, and see what else you can learn by using the machines available when doing jobs for other farmers.

You will be a pro before you know it…trust me!