Sunny Valley Farm Expert 2017 Guide

Last update: 11 January 2017

The Sunny Valley is great for a beginning because the farm development is rather unconstrained - you begin with only one tractor, McCormick X7 - and a hefty sum of 500,000 euro. What's more, we can manage three fields (wheat is sown on one of them), and there's an orchard nearby. One thing is sure - we need some hardware.

Go to the store with new equipment and get some basic tools. First, buy a plough. Cargool Rudy priced at 20,000 euro is a good idea - it has decent price to quality ratio. Then buy a cultivator - why not Horacio Platon 4GR for 30,000 euro? It's a basic model with good parameters - it's pretty efficient. When it comes down to seeders, go for Xena Double x1200 for 40,000 euro, since it has good wheelbase and reasonable capacity of the seed container. You will also need a fertilizer - choose RAUCH MDS 19.1 for 27,000 euro.

Think about getting a combine, too - you might consider Galadhon 2790, for 170,000 euro - notice the significant amount of headers - this renders the machine more versatile. As far as the reapers are concerned, you should get a more expensive, but also more efficient model, Galadhon DF 10,6 m for 40,000 - good wheelbase combined with modern technology let you minimize loss of harvested crops. Last but not least, the trailer - Krampe BigBody 650 for 17,000 with raised boards. In total, you have spent around 345 000 euro.

Time to buy some second-hand stuff - look for a set of machines to use in the orchard. The most important thing is obviously a small tractor - the only choice is Galadhon 4770 CF for 20,800 euro - add to that a seeding machine, Xena Kraken for 9,750 euro, a sprayer, K 129 for 39,000 euro, and a fruit-collecting platform, Pepple 4 for 12,350 euro. In total, you will pay about 82,000 euro for the second-hand machines, which will amount to 430,000 euro. As you can see, you will spend almost all your money for the machines - they will be very useful, though, and will work for entire years to come.

You will have to process two fields that you have - plough, cultivate, and sow cereal. You can also grow some rape and soy. You will need a silo for one of these (it costs around 5,000 euro). Don't mind the orchard so much - you can grow anything you prefer there because the income generated by the orchard is insignificant if compared with the money you get from farming. During the harvest, remember about the third field (the one with wheat) as well - this also has to be harvested!

Obviously, the path I have outlined above doesn't need to be obeyed point-to-point. You might just as well go for greenhouse farming (the greenhouse near your farm can be purchased), or raise livestock. My impression, however, is that those things should only be an extension of your development - at the beginning, you should go classic and mind only the crops and the orchard.