June 1, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments
I needed to create an entry in WordPress to setup the Train Sim category so I could get my top menu setup. While I currently do not have any Train Sim content to share, I do plan to add some soon. I’ve been playing Train Simulator since the Microsoft MSTS days (2001 I believe). Anyway, at the moment Train Sim is not getting a lot of my attention as I’m busy farming and trucking across Europe. But I do own the Steam version of Train Simulator 2015 so that is what I’ll be playing. I’ll be sure to add some content very soon.
Until then…
Choo Choo
JT
June 1, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments
Another Farming Simulator 2015 game tip. This post is primarily geared to those playing either the default maps (Bjornholm or Westbridge Hills) or any other map where the soil mod hasn’t been incorporated. For me personally, I have yet to experiment with the soil mod, but it is something I’m interested in when the right map comes along.
Just like in real life conditions, our virtual farm fields need extra nutrients to grow crops. For those starting out in the game you have a few different options to consider. All fertilizing options do the exact same thing with regards to crop yield and there is no benefit to using more than one method on the same field. In other words, using two or more different types of fertilizer will not further increase the crop yield. But simply applying one fertilizer option will double your crop yield versus not using fertilizer at all. Bottom line…fertilizing is a MUST down on the farm!
Before we get started breaking down the different types of fertilizer and the equipment needed for the job, allow me to briefly explain what crops can be fertilized. This will be easy and is best said that all crops with exception to grass can be fertilized to increase their yield. If you are going to plant a field (or already have a field planted) in grass, no fertilizer type will aid in the growth or yield produced. This is unfortunate, but it just just how Giants developed the game. So fertilize everything else (wheat, barley, canola, corn etc. etc.) but don’t waste your time, money and fuel to place fertilizer (any type) on grass as it will not make any difference.
Finally, let’s briefly discuss when to fertilize. Which ever type of fertilizer you decide to use (see below) the time to fertilize will more or less be the same. Applying fertilizer can be done either before sowing or anytime after sowing up to the final growth stage. I typically apply fertilizer immediately after sowing/planting. You’ll easily be able to tell where you’ve applied fertilizer as the soil will be slightly darker in appearance.
Types of Fertilizer
For the default maps (again Bjornholm and Westbridge) you basically have three options to choose from regarding the types of fertilizer you have available to use. These are granular or powder type fertilizer, liquid fertilizer and finally manure. You know….the byproduct from the cows. However, in the very initial stages of game play….we really must rule out the option of using manure. Manure (both solid and liquid) most certainly can be used as fertilizer and the cost for the fertilizer itself will be free….but again in the early stages of game play you simply will not have enough available to do the job. In addition, as I’ve described in a recent blog post regarding “Compost…Another Lucrative Business” you may be better off selling both the liquid manure and solid manure versus using it as fertilizer.
Granular Fertilizer
Of the three fertilizer types, the white granular fertilizer is the easiest to apply to your fields. The Amazone ZA-M 1501 with a 3,000 liter capacity is generally supplied as starting equipment on the default maps of Bjornholm and Westbridge Hills. This spreader can be mounted to any three point hitch and has a wide coverage of 26,0m. As you accumulate more wealth, the pull-behind Amazone ZG-B 8200 model should most certainly be considered as the capacity more than doubles to 8,200 liters.
Liquid Fertilizer
Just a reminder, this blog posting is geared to those playing the default maps or any other map where the soil mod hasn’t been applied. The soil mod does change how fertilizer and other soil treatments are applied for optimum results. For the purpose of this blog article, we are strictly discussing maps where the soil mod is not in place.
The process for applying liquid fertilizer is much the same as the granular type. However, different equipment is used. In the default “in-game” store you’ll find the Amazone UF 1801 sprayer. This sprayer is designed to mount on the rear of the tractor. An additional storage take can be purchased which mounts to the front of the tractor. The main rear mounted sprayer when unfolded has a working width of 24,0m. This can become a challenge on maps with smaller fields or those with fences, gates and trees near by. Again, there is no advantage to using liquid over granular. They both provide the same yield when applied to the field.
Manure
As previously stated, the use of manure for fertilizing purposes in the early stages of farming really isn’t an option. First, the cost of the equipment is considerably more expensive than the spreader or sprayers. Second, the amount required to cover even a small field will be more than what can be made from a few head of dairy cows. Unfortunately, of the three default livestock (chickens, dairy cows and sheep) only the dairy cows produce manure. But as you grow your farming empire and add more and more dairy cows…the manure will start to pile up (literally) and can most certainly be used as fertilizer.
Manure is essentially broken down into two types. Solid manure and liquid manure or slurry. Both types (along with granular and liquid fertilizer) when applied by itself will double the crop yield. Remember, the best we can do is double the yield. Applying all available fertilizer types is only wasting time, fuel and money and will not increase the yield beyond double.
The in-game equipment for both solid manure and liquid slurry will work well in applying to the field. The cost of the equipment is in proportion of the capacity. In the case of slurry, a large 55,000 liter capacity storage trailer can be used to store slurry near the field to decrease the travel time to refill.
Just as a reminder, consider reading the blog article I wrote a few weeks ago titled “Compost – Another Lucrative Business”. This may get you thinking about better ways of using manure and slurry to increase your income versus using it for fertilizer.
In closing, regardless if you are just starting out or have been farming in your virtual world for some time, there really is no excuse not to fertilize. I hope this article has provided you the information you need to make the decisions on what type of fertilizer to use and the equipment required to perform the job. “Down on Jerry’s Farm” I use the white granular fertilizer and own both the three point hitch mounted spreader and the pull-behind model.
Until next time…
Happy Farming!!!
Jerry
May 30, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments
Happy Saturday Everyone…Just a quick and out of cycle blog posting for your reading enjoyment.
I absolutely fell in love with Ringwoods Farm map I’m currently playing. I’ve spent hours and hours and even more hours playing this wonderful map. While I’m looking at the possibility of starting another map soon (perhaps States V6 if I can figure out the whole soil mod thing) but I absolutely can’t wait for the release of Black Rock Valley. Black Rock Valley is currently in development and is being created by the same individual who created Ringwoods. Yes I’m talking about the very talented and extremely busy Stevie.
I’ve had the fortunate pleasure to get to know Stevie through both this blog and his new Facebook page where he posts almost daily status updates on the new map. I’ve also downloaded and incorporated many of his mods into my farming empire. Everything I’ve downloaded, installed and used just simply works. No fuss, No mess and NO ERRORS! This guy is truly an asset to our Farming Simulator Community. As a matter of fact, when I’m in the need of a modded piece of equipment, I first check Stevie’s extensive collection of mods hosted on the Modhub websitebefore I look anywhere else. They are just that good!
Again, I’m really excited about his new Black Rock Valley. I invite you to follow along with his development process via his Facebook page. At the present date/time he’s been working on the new map for about 12-15 days. He’s really made much progress, but I also know he has many, many more hours to go before he’s ready to release it. Just enjoy the almost daily progress postings on his Facebook page and get ready to have some farming fun once Black Rock Valley is ready for prime time.
Until next time…
Happy Farming!!!
Jerry
May 29, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments
In the initial stages of building your farming empire, grass will be a key element. Most maps provide an almost endless supply and you’ll need to quickly get started mowing in order to provide feed to sheep and dairy cows. In addition, you may want to cut grass to kick start your silage making process. Finally, cut grass does have value and a loading wagon full will bring you some quick cash for a little bit of effort. But after some time you might want to consider corn as the better silage producing solution especially if you plan to keep a large population of livestock on the farm.
But regardless, mowing grass will always be a task you’ll need to routinely do if you plan to raise livestock. Your sheep population will work at 110% with grass and water. But your dairy cattle will need a little more than just grass and water to get them up to 110% production. Actually…a lot more! You’ll need the important TMR or total mixed ration. In terms of Farming Simulator 2015, TMR is a mix of hay, straw and silage. You can use the “in game” mixing wagons to load your hay and straw bales along with silage. From what I’ve read in the forums, the mixture is typically one bale of hay, one bale of straw and four buckets of silage.
If you are playing on the Ringwoods Farm map (like I am) or have installed one of the placeable mixing station mods, then all you really need to do is fill the mixing station and it will mix and portion the correct blend of materials to make TMR. The mixing station which is pre-installed on the Ringwoods Farm map (there are two) will hold 50,000 liters of hay, straw and silage. A full station easily supports my 75 dairy cows and 25 calves with much to spare.
As I use these mixing stations to support my growing livestock population, I do not need to bale hay or straw. I typically will pickup the straw from my wheat and barley harvests and store that material in my large shed. In addition, I grow most of my corn for chaff production and will send a portion to the BGA bunker and the other half to my south farm bunker to ferment into silage. But of course I still need a steady supply of hay for TMR.
As I said at the top of the blog posting, there is an almost endless supply of grass on most maps. Most fields will have fairly large borders of grass and mowing the grass areas along side the roads is also a great idea. I routinely drive a tractor with a front mounted mower pulling the small Euroboss pickup wagon. However, I also have a small field planted in grass. This field is located near my cow farm and on average will yield about 60,000 liters of grass or hay.
Using the windrower to gather up the grass for easy pickup.
Now what I’m going to tell you next was learned somewhat by accident. I had been mowing this field every day in order to build up a stockpile of hay. I would cut the grass, tedder the grass to turn it into hay, rake the hay into windrows with the windrower and then finally collect it with my large loading wagon. But one day after I mowed, I got distracted with harvesting cotton and sunflower and failed to finish the rest of the steps. Once I completed the rest of the tasks on the farm it was getting near dark so I bumped up the time to fast forward to the next day. As the sun was rising on my brand new day I set out to complete my usual tasks. Low and behold, I realized I had left cut grass on field 10 and new grass had of course grown. Of course, this is what would happen in real life.
The large 50,000 liter loading wagon makes quick work in picking up grass, hay or straw.
I climbed into my tractor and mowed field 10, I then ran the tedder over it, raked it and picked up the hay. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the yield had almost doubled from 60,000 on a single cut to 99,356 liters with the double cut. Considering it takes the same amount of time to tedder and rake the field regardless if it’s been cut once or twice and only slightly longer (due to more trips to dump the grass/hay) this seems to be an easy way to almost double the yield.
Dumping grass to add to my growing stockpile of grass/hay, straw and silage.
I haven’t tested if I cut the grass each day for three days, four days or five days if the yield will continue to increase. But if I don’t have time to cut, rake and gather one day…I do typically mow and then will mow again the next day and complete the process. This of course would likely NOT be the process in real life. But then again this is just our virtual farming world and what ever we decide to make of it.
I hope you enjoy this tip and I hope it helps you. Thanks for reading!
Until next time…
Happy Farming!!!
Jerry
P.S. I did conduct another test where I mowed field 10 for five consecutive days (around the same time each day) then I ran the tedder over it, raked it and picked up the hay. The result of this test was only 100,156 liters of hay which is only slightly more than the two day test I had conducted last week. So unfortunately instead of getting five times the yield, I still only received two times the yield. This end result probably best illustrates actual real-life results where the cut grass would eventually impede the growth of new grass. Bottom line: You can certainly cut the grass the first day then cut the second day again (or second growth cycle) then tedder, rake and pickup and receive the extra yield for slightly less work. But any more than twice is just wasted effort on the part of mowing. You won’t get any benefit from it.
May 26, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments
In addition to all the new fruit types available on the Ringwoods map, the ability to create compost and sell it can add up the virtual dollars, pounds, euros etc. in the old bank account. A few blog postings ago, I shared “How to get rich quick” using the Ringwoods map. The beauty of the Ringwoods map is at the very beginning you have just under 1 million dollars in equipment available to you. As I pointed out in the blog article, all this equipment is in the “free and clear”. You can sell it to generate some quick cash to then re-invest in different equipment. Go read the “How to get rich quick” using the Ringwoods map for all the details.
Once you find yourself with a few dairy cows and you’ve invested the effort in stockpiling all you need to sustain them for a while, their byproduct (along with a few other things) can all be hauled up to the CMC Composting Plant to be turned into compost. Once the compost is ready (the machine does all the work) you then just backup your tipper and haul it to the sell point (located behind the Garden Center). Unlike the Chaff –> Silage –> to $$$ process which requires you to move the silage from the BGA bunkers to the silage receptor, the compost process is much less complicated. Also, unlike the previously mentioned BGA process, all you really need to complete the task is a tractor and tipper. I’d recommend picking up the Kroeger Trailer Pack. This trailer pack mod was created by Stevie (developer of the Ringwoods map). These trailers will haul anything and everything you’ll need to start your compost business. Also, while you are grabbing trailer mods. Go ahead and pickup the Kotte Universal Pack (by Farmer Andy) These tankers will carry any liquid (water, fertilizer, fuel, liquid manure) around your farm. More about the tankers in just a minute.
Again, once you are a little more established with your farming empire and have several dairy cows (beefs, pigs and fattening chickens help as well) they will start to produce both solid manure and liquid manure. Now I realize that both can also be used as fertilizer. However, as the game doesn’t really care what type of fertilizer is used on the fields and manure (both types) require a very large amount to cover even the smallest of fields, I simply prefer to use the other fertilizer methods. Again, you can (and should) harvest the solid manure from all your animals and haul it to the CMC Composting Plant. I tend to do this once I have accumulated a trailer full (45,000).
Dumping a load of solid manure at the CMC Compost Plant.
The manure is moved into the large mixing station to be further processed into compost.
A fully automated process. Just dump and go.
Next, as I have time I use my large 50,000 liter loading wagon to pickup the straw from my wheat and barley harvests and I stockpile a few hundred thousand liters in my silo. So for every trailer full of solid manure, I also transport a full wagon of straw to the CMC Compost Plant. However, the CMC Compost Plant will accept potato, sugarbeet, chaff, silage, grass, straw, woodchips and manure. While I haven’t calculated it all out, I’m guessing for my operations….everything but manure is much more valuable to sell or use than turning into compost.
As I previously stated, the CMC Composting Plant is much more of a friendly process than the BGA. The Ringwoods Compost plant has a backup ramp to tip/offload both the straw and solid manure and on the other side you simply pull your tipper under and the newly created compost will pour right into the trailer.
Once the mixture is turned into compost, just pull up and the plant will offload into your tipper.
A full load of compost being delivered to the sell point located directly behind the Garden Center.
Normally speaking, compost may not make you a millionaire all by itself. However, considering the process as I’ve described in using manure and straw where the only cost to you is gathering it and transporting it to the CMC Compost Plant, the average value is around $516 per ton. But if you time it right, you may catch a high demand scenario where it could be worth a lot more. Recently the Garden Center was paying 1.6 times during a 24 hour high demand situation. This meant for every 45,000 liter load I moved from the CMC Compost Plant to the Garden Center I earned about $23,000 per load. Not a bad payout considering.
Finally, if you are playing the Ringwoods Farm map don’t forget you have a manure selling point located at the BGA Plant. This is where I haul my liquid manure using the Kotte Universal Packtanker trailers. These really nice tankers will transport a variety of liquid types including fuel, water, fertilizer and of course liquid manure. I don’t exactly recall just how much a tanker full of liquid manure will net you. But again…considering all you need to do is pump it from your storage facility to the sell point. The money is too easy to turn down. Every penny counts in your farming empire.
I hope this information helps you and you’ll return again soon.
Until next time…
Happy Farming!!!
Jerry
May 22, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments
I’ve been computer farming with Farming Simulator 2015 for a few months now. During all this time I’ve only ever grown and harvested the default plant types of wheat, barley, canola, corn (both for selling in the shops and for silage production) along with potatoes and sugar beets. I recently began farming on the brand new Ringwoods Final v1.8 map created by the very talented Stevie. I had spent almost a month on his v1.7 but that map still only allowed the default type grains and fruits. This new Ringwoods v1.8 includes sunflower, soybean, oats, sorghum and cotton. Check out the latest update with version 1.81 available here.
Starting over with a cash injection to cover purchasing new equipment and all the fields I owned in v1.7, I began planting my crops on the new v1.8 map. I started with the basics of wheat, barley and canola. I then planted the field closest to the BGA with corn. I planned to split the harvest between the BGA bunkers and the bunker at the south farm location. This would allow me to get a jump on silage production for my dairy cattle. Of course I also needed some of the straw from the first harvest of either wheat or barley. Going into multi-task mode, I also managed to mow, tedder, rake and collect the loose hay again with the goal of jump starting my total mixed rations (TMR) production. Once the first crops were ready to harvest I was up early to make a good start in getting it all done. The hard work paid off, the dairy cattle are performing at 110%.
Next I set out to do some experimentation with the new fruit types I have the ability to plant and grow on this new map. I planted a small field in cotton and sunflower to start off with. I’m really looking forward to harvesting the cotton. In real life I drive from Colorado to Texas to visit family. Cotton is grown in much of the panhandle and far northwest Texas region. Generally on both sides of the road and as far as one can see are cotton plants. Depending on the time of year we visit, you can also see the large bales of cotton sitting around. In addition, the area is covered in loose pieces of cotton. It’s all very cool to see.
Harvesting the new cotton crop with the New Holland CR10.90
I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to go about harvesting the new fields I planted in cotton and sunflower. But I quickly found out all I needed was my trusty New Holland Combine and the 9m header I use for corn. This header will also work for sorghum and soybeans. Of course, the oats will be done with the same header I use for the grains (wheat, barley, canola). Having the ability to harvest all these new fruits is keeping me busy and I’m enjoying the variety. I’ve dedicated the jumbo sized fields of 8 to wheat, 15 to canola and 16/17 to barley. I’m then growing the new fruit types of cotton, sorghum, sunflower, soybean and oats on the smaller fields throughout the map.
Early morning sunrise down on Jerry’s Farm. This field of sunflowers will be ready to harvest soon.
If you are interested in growing something other than wheat, barley, canola etc. Check out the Ringwoods Farm map and try your hand at these new opportunities.
Until next time…
Happy Farming!!!
Jerry
May 20, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments
The new blog is starting to become a hit. The daily visitor stats are increasing and I would like to thank all who have shared links. This isn’t a fancy blog site, but Farming Simulator blog sites (especially in English) seem to be rare. While a lot of folks are creating wonderful content on YouTube and Twitch, sometimes the written form is often appreciated. For that, I’m happy to continue to write and share here. Please continue to tell your farming friends.
Stevie has once again released an update to his awesome Ringwoods map. This is the map I’ve been playing for several weeks now. The latest version is 1.81. Stevie states this will be the final update to the Ringwoods map. Version 1.8 was released just a few days ago and is the current version I’m playing. 1.81 includes some minor changes and fixes which don’t impact my game play, so for now I’m going to continue farming on Ringwoods 1.8.
Regardless if you are just starting out or have been virtual farming for years…if you want a full-featured map, check out Ringwoods. In addition, I’ve come to know Stevie through exchanging comments back and forth regarding Ringwoods. Stevie is a wonderful modder and truly an asset to our virtual farming community. If you are looking for high quality and error free mods, you may check out the full list of mods Stevie has posted on ModHub. I picked up a few new ones myself.
Don’t forget, check out this blog article if you are interested in using Ringwoods to help you “Get Rich Quick”. Just this morning I harvested another load of chaff for the BGA bunker. Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching….
Until next time…
Happy Farming!!!
Jerry
P.S. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter.
May 18, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments
Well…I guess nothing new is really coming for any of us who have been playing Farming Simulator 2015 on PC and Mac. But if you have been waiting for the console version of FS2015, your wait is almost over. Yes…the wonderful world of Farming Simulator 2015 will release on PS4, PS3, XBOX One and XBOX 360 on 19 May. While I don’t own any of these console platforms, I won’t be able to experience game play but I assume it will all be the same as what we experience on PC and Mac. Although I’ve heard the ability to add mods may not be available for the console versions. If this is true, then this is truly bad news for console players. The ability to install mods (or modifications) is truly cool. While the default game is certainly fun. The ability to load different maps, equipment and utilities such as Courseplay takes Farming Simulator 2015 to a completely different level of play. Of course, mods do from time to time cause issue with the functionality and stability of the game. This may be part of the reason mods may not be allowed initially. From what I understand the console platforms require Sony and Microsoft to approve any mods or DLC made available and again this might be part of the reason mods won’t be readily available at time of launch. In my opinion it is for these types of reasons that game play on a PC is far superior to that of the consoles. But that is another discussion for another time…
Anyway….I’m sure the launch of the console versions will also mean we may be even closer to the official release of the 1.3 patch. The patch is currently in public beta, but I’ve steered clear of it. However, I’m certainly hopeful the 1.3 patch addresses many things. The biggest issue I’ve found is just with drive dynamics. While it’s been a while since I’ve driven a tractor in real life across a field, I don’t recall the drive dynamics being anything like they are in the game version.
I certainly hope everyone had a fantastic weekend with your virtual farms. I have more blog postings coming over the next few days. Thanks for reading!
Until next time…
Happy Farming!!!
Jerry
May 16, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments
I know the title sounds like the late night infomercial you stumble on when you can’t sleep. In my last blog article, I mentioned I had amassed a fairly large amount of cash farming on theRingwoods Farm map. By the way, at the time of this writing the Ringwoods Farm map is the brand spankin new (and final) update v1.8. I only learned of this brand new update today and haven’t even played it yet. So as I write this blog article, I’ll also be following my own advice for “Getting Rich Quick on Ringwoods Farm”.
Anyway, Ringwoods Farm is a really cool map for Farming Simulator 2015. It is based on the default Westbridge Hills map but made much, much, much, much better by Stevie (AKA FIREZ34). This latest update (and the final version) has been made even better. As with most maps, you are generally presented with a small selection of equipment (a tractor (or two or three), tipper, plow, harvester, cultivator, sowing machine along with at least one already owned piece of land and many times this piece of land is ready to harvest. In addition, you have about $6,000 cash in the bank, a $100,000 loan with the ability to borrow another $100,000. This gives you $106,000 to start your farming empire. Of course there are money mods and other cheats which can be done to the game to start you off at just about any level of $$$ you desire. But if you want to experience the game as it was intended, then hopefully my tips will help you.
When you begin a new game on Ringwoods Farm you’ll have $6,000 in cash, you’ll have the already existing $100,000 bank loan (with the option of borrowing another $100,000) and you’ll own fields 16 and 3. In addition, you’ll also own a whopping almost 1 million in equipment. So you have many options to proceed.
Option 1 – Status Quo
You take it as you have it. You start planting, fertilizing, harvesting and selling crops from fields 3 and 16. Rinse and repeat as necessary. You’ll need to take an additional loan to cover the initial seed, fertilizer and operating costs. But after the first harvest you should be able to start paying back the bank loan and just continue planting and harvesting from fields 3 and 16 until such time you can save up enough for a third field, then a fourth and so on. You also have the grass field (not owned) on field 20 along with a mower attachment and the small Euroboss forge wagon. You also own both a tedder and windrower, so you can start storing grass, hay and make silage to either sell or use for dairy cows, sheep etc. If you are into logging and forestry…you have some really nice equipment to get you started.
Option 2 – Max the Loan Baby!!!
Taking out the extra $100K loan will give you $106,000. This is certainly enough to get started and will provide you a little more operating overhead than option 1. You might even consider upgrading a few of the pieces of equipment you already own. I would suggest selling the offset Novacat mower and pickup the Kuhn FC 3525 F to mount on the front of the tractor. This is a really nice “in-game” mower and works well when you add the Kuhn FC 10030 to the back of your tractor. You then have a working/mowing width of over 9 feet. In no time you will have access to more cash to be able to pickup new fields and take advantage of more crops.
Option 3 – Go For Broke –or- It Takes Money to Make Money
The beauty of Ringwoods is two-fold. First, there is SOOOOOOO much to do. This map features a little bit of everything. Unfortunately, this is also somewhat of a drawback in a sense. For me, I’m really not into the logging and forestry. I probably would enjoy it more if the game physics were better when handling the wood. Likewise I would probably enjoy it more if I added a joystick to my setup to control the crane operations. Using the mouse just frustrates me and watching the logs bounce around frustrates me even more. Anyway….the second advantage of Ringwoods is the almost $1 million dollars in equipment you have available to you. It’s all in the “free and clear” and can easily be liquidated to build up the level of on-hand cash.
One of the fastest and most reliable ways of earning $$$ is producing and selling silage at the Bio Gas Plant or BGA. In normal mode, a bunker full of silage (600,000 liters) will earn you approx. $480,000. Of course, the old saying “It Takes Money to Make Money” will prove true in this option. Short of winning the lotto, you’ll need to sell some of the existing equipment and invest in new equipment which will help you maximize your earning potential. Here’s TEN easy to follow steps that will soon have you farming all the way to the bank.
Step One – let’s have a yard sale. By selling the Ponsse ScorpianKing, Ponsse Buffalo, Lenz wood chipper, Stepa Log transporter and Damcon tree planter (essentially getting out of the forestry business) you’ll generate $353,000. But we are not done yet. Sell the New Holland TC5.90 Harvester and Header (you’ll want a bigger harvester anyway) will get you another $91,000. Next, sell the Piqup and either the New Holland T8.435 Smarttrax or one of the three Case Magnum 380’s. This will bring you to a total cash on hand of $622,500 ($629,500 if you sell the T8.435). Actually, sell both of them for a grand total of $778,500.
Step Two – Go ahead and max out the loan or what I call “spend my children’s inheritance”. This will give you a grand total of $884,500. All that money burning a hole in your pocket? Don’t worry…it won’t be there long.
Step Three – Head to the tractor store and buy the following items Krone BigX 100,000 capacity combine (this is a mod available here) for $415,000. Pickup the “in-game” EasyCollect 1053 10.5m header for $45,000. While you have the Telehandler in your fleet, do yourself a favor and buy the “in-game” Liebherr Wheel Loader and the universal bucket for $168,400. Now relax for a minute when you realize you’ve just spent $628,400. But don’t panic. You should still have approx. $256,000 from your liquidation efforts.
Step Four – Now go seed field #16 with corn. You won’t need to pickup a special corn seeder, as the seeders provided on the Ringwoods map will do it all. Don’t forget to fertilize!
Step Five – Wait for the corn to grow, then harvest it for chaff using the Krone BigX you purchased earlier. To simplify the process, setup Courseplay and use two tractors and the two 45,000 liter tippers you already own. Dump all the chaff into the BGA bunker. Start with the bunker on the north end. Once filled, compact it and cover it to allow it to ferment into silage. Of course, you also own field 3. I would sow this field in either wheat or barley. Keep in mind that you sold your smaller combine in step one. So you’ll need to complete the sell of your first full bunker of silage before you’ll have enough to buy a new combine.
Step Six – Hopefully you’ve already re-sown field #16 with corn. If not, what are you waiting for? Now once the silage is ready, again use Courseplay and setup a route to empty the silage in the first bunker. This will be a slow process as the BGA can only handle up to 20,000 liters of silage at a time. However, you can set your timescale to 5x and the wheel loader will not overload the process. Once the full bunker is emptied, you should have $700,000 + in cash. Now would be a good time to re-invest this in a larger combine. With $700K you will be able to easily afford the New Holland CR10.90 at $430,000 along with the 41’ Varifeed Header at $65,000.
Step Seven – Keeping in mind that for every filled bunker of silage at the BGA will earn you approx. $480,000, if you fill all four bunkers and sell the silage back to the BGA, this will earn you a cool 1.9 million dollars.
Step Eight – As you continue producing and selling silage (and other crops) start taking the extra cash you are accumulating and purchase new fields. Eventually you may want to re-locate your corn/chaff to field 14 to shorten the trip to the BGA.
Step Nine – If you are interested in logging and forestry work, then start purchasing back the equipment you sold earlier. As you begin to get more fields sowed and take advantage of all the features this map offer you’ll find yourself busy. Keep producing silage as much or as little as you need to have access to quick cash.
Step Ten – Have Fun! Continue producing as much silage as needed to reach the financial goals you have for your farm. Payback the loans and reap the benefits of the financial freedom a little bit of corn and hard work has provided. Crack open a cold beverage, sit back and relax. You’ve earned this break…
I hope you have enjoyed this tip and likewise I also hope it helps you in some way. Please bookmark my blog site and/or subscribe to my RSS feed so you’ll always receive new content as soon as it is published.
Until next time…
Happy Farming!!!
Jerry
May 15, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments
As you progress with your farming adventures, you are most likely to accumulate more and more tractors, combines, trucks etc. (basically drivable vehicles). Moving yourself from vehicle to vehicle can of course be done by exiting one vehicle and walking over and entering the next. Or you can take the faster approach by using either the Tab key on your keyboard or whatever button/switch you have mapped on your favorite joystick/controller. Tabbing from one vehicle to another vehicle is both quick and efficient when you just have a small handful of drivable vehicles. But as I previously stated, as you continue to grow your farming empire so goes the need of growing your fleet. This of course is a good problem to have…
As I’ve been farming on the Ringwoods Map (version 1.71) the past several weeks, I’ve reached a point where my available cash on hand is quite substantial and I can afford just about any piece of equipment I desire. I’ll share my secret (not really a secret) to getting rich in a future blog article. Ringwoods is a good map to really earn a lot of dough quickly if you desire. Anyway, I own a number of tractors, combines, trucks and using the tab method of moving from vehicle to vehicle was causing me to spend way more time cycling through vehicles than I cared to spend. But is there a better way?
Absolutely….
Yes my farming friends, there is a mod for that! It’s called Vehicle Group Switcher (VeGS). You can download VeGS from the FS-UK site. At the time of this writing, the VeGS Mod is at version 2.0.6. VeGS installs like any other mod. Just download and place the zipped file directly into your Mods folder. Complete instructions are available on the VeGS mod page on the FS-UK site.
In a nutshell, once you download the VeGS mod and install it into your mods folder, the next time you startup Farming Simulator 2015 go to any vehicle and click Left Ctrl E. If your airplane starts you are in the wrong sim 
DOH!!!!! Anyway, Ctrl E places VeGS into edit mode. From this edit mode you are able to move each vehicle into one of 10 available (and customizable) groups. As you can see from the image below, I’ve customized my group names (when in edit mode, press and hold Ctrl and the group number until you see a text box where you can type the custom name you desire to use) by Small Tractors, Medium Tractors, Large Tractors, Combines, Telehandler/Wheel Loaders, Trucks and a final group called Forestry. Once you have your fleet organized the way you like it, click Left Ctrl E to leave edit mode. I would recommend you do a quick save in FS2015 as this will write the changes to your saved game folder.
After you have your fleet setup, you can easily switch from vehicle to vehicle by clicking left Ctrl and the group number to cycle through those items. The left Ctrl button will bring up this HUD (example from the above image) To make things easier for me, I printed the image above and have it nearby my controls. Eventually I’ll remember the groupings…but until then it serves as a handy cheat-sheet.
Again, make sure you read all the instructions on the mod page and enjoy. While I’ve accumulated many wonderful mods that I simply could not live without, I’ve got to say that VeGS is in the top 5 (perhaps even the top 3) most relied upon mods I have in my mods folder. Check it out for yourself and enjoy!
Until next time…
Happy Farming!!!
JT
