Farming Simulator 25: How to raise cows?

Cows are one of the most popular farm animals and they are also present in Farming Simulator 25. On this page of the guide you will learn how to raise cows, what buildings to build for them, how to feed them, how to breed them and what benefits there are for raising them.

• Is raising cows worth it?
• Types of farm houses
• Types of cows
• Feeding
• How to produce mixed ration (TMR)?
• Breeding
• What to do with milk?
• Slurry

Is raising cows worth it?

Cows are very expensive. Raising them requires constructing expensive buildings and providing specific equipment. The main product you will get from these animals is milk. In addition to this, you will also receive slurry, which serves as a fertilizer. Additionally, you can also breed and sell cows.

Types of farm houses

The buildings where you can keep your cows are exceptionally expensive. That's why you need to carefully consider what you want your breeding to look like.

Building	Price	Capacity
Pasture for cows	15,000 euros	7 cows
Cowshed	85,000 euros	35 cows
Cowshed (large)	170,000 euros	99 cows
Cowshed	254,000 euros	50 cows
Cowshed (large)	518,500 euros	96 cows
Cowshed with a feeding robot	722,500 euros	93 cows

Types of cows

There are 4 species of cows available: Brown-Swiss, Holstein-Friesian, Angus and Limousin. The first two are intended for milk production. The next two are intended only for breeding and later sale. So before making a purchase, you need to ask yourself what matters more to you.

Cows come in three age categories. The younger the animals, the cheaper they are. This is where you can save some money. On the other hand, they will not reproduce and will start generating profits only later on.

1. Calves - age 0 months
2. Young - age 6 months
3. Adult - 18 months old

Feeding

Cows can consume many different types of food - grass, silage, hay or mixed ration (TMR). Each of them offers a certain level of efficiency:

1. TMR - 100%;
2. Hay - 80%;
3. Silage - 80%;
4. Grass - 40%.

As you can see, grass is a completely inefficient way to feed your animals and you should not choose this type of feed at all. If you're on a tight budget, it's worth going for hay. Importantly, this type of food gives you full efficiency in milk production. So if you're not aiming at breeding and selling cows, you can stick with this food. However, you must remember that in order to feed the animals, you need to have food in granular form.

In case you decide to go for TMR, you will have to invest in a special feed mixing machine, but it will ensure maximum milk production and reproduction efficiency.

How to produce mixed ration (TMR)?

Two basic ingredients, silage and grass, (optionally, you can also add hay or mineral feed) need to be loaded and mixed in special trailers (or vehicles), which you can find in the Animals tab of the store. However, it's not that simple. The ingredients must be in a bale and in order to place them in the machine, you need a loader.

As if that wasn't enough, you can't just blindly throw in the ingredients. They must be in the correct proportion. You will find out whether the proportions are correct thanks to the indicators on the screen. The rules here are simple: if the bars next to each of the added ingredients light up green, it means that the feed is prepared correctly.

Breeding

In order for cows to reproduce, they must reach the age of 18 months and have an appropriate Health indicator (based on food quality). Then, after 10 months, more individuals will appear in the farm house.

What to do with milk?

Milk can be sold. To do this, you need a specific tank. You will find it in the store in the Animals category. Once you have acquired a trailer, you will be able to drive up to the farm house and position it by the loading icon.

Milk is used in production chains. With its help you will produce cheese, chocolate and butter in the dairy.

Slurry

If you haven't built a pasture, the cows will also produce natural fertilizer: slurry. You can use it to increase the yields from your fields or sell it.