Farming Simulator 22 shipped in November 2021 with three maps: Elmcreek in the American Midwest with 82 fields, Haut-Beyleron in southern France with 48, and the alpine Erlengrat with 25. Seasonal growth is the headline change, so each crop now has a sowing and harvesting window instead of growing whenever you feel like planting. Production chains are the other addition, with 13 plant types that turn raw harvest into flour, bread, cake, fabric, clothes and more.
This guide covers everything you need: core mechanics, the best builds, equipment worth investing in, location progression, and the tips that actually make a difference.
Core Mechanics
Seasonal growth cycles
Each in game month advances crops one growth stage, and sowing outside a crop's window means nothing comes up. You set how many days a month lasts when creating the save, so a season can run a single day or most of a real week.
Production chains
There are 13 production plants you can buy and place on your land. The Grain Mill turns wheat, barley, oats and sorghum into flour, the Bakery turns flour into bread and combines six ingredients into cake, the Spinnery makes fabric and the Tailor Shop converts fabric into clothes.
Field state management
Fields track lime, fertiliser in stages, plough state, weeds and rolling. Skipping lime or letting weeds run cuts a visible slice off the harvest, and root crops such as potatoes and sugar beet leave the field needing a plough afterwards.
Contracts and leasing
Contracts pay you to mow, plough, sow, fertilise or harvest on other farms, and you can lease the exact machine required for a fraction of its purchase price. Early on this earns more per hour than working your own land does.
Construction and terrain shaping
Build mode places sheds, silos, production plants, fences and roads, and the terrain tools raise, lower, flatten and paint ground. Anything you place can be sold back later, so a badly sited barn is a mistake you can undo.
For a deeper dive into how these systems interact, see our Farming Simulator 22 combat guide.
Builds Overview
| Build | Tier | Playstyle | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arable crop farming | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Animal husbandry | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Forestry | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Production chain operator | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Contract work | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
For full build breakdowns with gear and stat priorities, see our Farming Simulator 22 builds guide. For rankings, check the tier list.
Equipment Guide
| Equipment | Why It Matters | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| John Deere 8R | A large row crop tractor from the base game with enough power for heavy tillage, big drills and full trailers. | Ploughing and cultivating the wide fields of Elmcreek, and pulling large seed drills without stalling on hills. |
| Claas Lexion 8900 | A high capacity combine harvester in the base game, paired with wide cutters and a grain tank sized to keep going while the unloading tractor catches up. | Clearing large wheat, barley and canola fields quickly with a chaser trailer running alongside. |
| Krone BiG X 1180 | The most powerful vehicle in the base game at 1156 horsepower, a self propelled forage harvester for chopping maize and grass into silage. | Large scale silage runs feeding a dairy herd or a biogas plant, with two trailers rotating beneath the spout. |
| Grimme Ventor 4150 | A self propelled potato harvester that lifts, cleans and holds the crop on board, replacing a tractor and trailed lifter combination. | Potato farms large enough that a trailed harvester becomes the bottleneck in the schedule. |
| Fendt 900 Vario | A large continuously variable tractor in the base game, strong enough for heavy work while staying precise at low speed for planting and loader tasks. | Mixed farms wanting one tractor that ploughs, sows and still handles yard and loader jobs. |
John Deere 8R: A large row crop tractor from the base game with enough power for heavy tillage, big drills and full trailers. Also available as the 8RT tracked and 8RX four track variants.
Claas Lexion 8900: A high capacity combine harvester in the base game, paired with wide cutters and a grain tank sized to keep going while the unloading tractor catches up.
Krone BiG X 1180: The most powerful vehicle in the base game at 1156 horsepower, a self propelled forage harvester for chopping maize and grass into silage.
Grimme Ventor 4150: A self propelled potato harvester that lifts, cleans and holds the crop on board, replacing a tractor and trailed lifter combination.
Fendt 900 Vario: A large continuously variable tractor in the base game, strong enough for heavy work while staying precise at low speed for planting and loader tasks.
Full breakdowns in our Farming Simulator 22 weapons guide.
Location Progression
| Location | Level Range | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Elmcreek | Beginner friendly | 82 fields, on map production plants, wide flat working ground |
| Haut-Beyleron | Intermediate | 48 fields, vineyard and olive ground, small field cash crops |
| Erlengrat | Advanced | 25 fields, alpine dairy businesses, slope focused equipment challenge |
| Silverrun Forest | Forestry focused | Over 20,000 trees, timber and woodchip income, logging terrain |
| Zielonka | Intermediate to advanced | Fresh field layout, new sell points, expansion machinery pairing |
Elmcreek: An American Midwest map with 82 fields, the largest count in the base game, plus a Grain Mill, Carpentry, Spinnery and Tailor Shop already on the map. Flat and wide, so big machinery pays for itself.
Haut-Beyleron: A southern French map of 48 fields across hilly terrain, with the climate and slopes suited to grapes and olives that flatter ground cannot grow as well.
Erlengrat: An alpine map of 25 medium fields with steep approaches and local businesses including Kaeserei Erlengrat and Liechti Chocolatier. Slopes make large machinery a liability rather than an advantage.
Silverrun Forest: A Pacific Northwest map added with the Platinum Expansion, starting with over 20,000 trees. It is built for forestry first, with farming as a secondary income rather than the main one.
Zielonka: The map that came with the Premium Expansion, adding another full farming region with its own field layout and sell points for players who have worked through the base game maps.
See our maps & locations guide for detailed area breakdowns and our walkthrough for the optimal progression path.
Tips That Actually Matter
- Start with contracts and leased implements. A leased plough for one job costs a fraction of buying one, and contract income funds your first field far faster than harvesting a starter plot does.
- Sowing windows are real. Planting outside a crop's window produces nothing at all, so check the calendar and the crop list before you buy seed, particularly for maize, sunflowers and sorghum.
- Lime on the schedule the game shows rather than by feel. A field that has gone unlimed loses a visible slice of yield, and lime is one of the cheapest inputs in the game.
- Store the harvest instead of selling it at the elevator the moment the trailer is full. Prices move month to month and a silo lets you wait for the spike, which is often worth more than a second field.
- Root crops leave the ground needing a plough. Harvest potatoes or sugar beet and then plough before the next sowing, otherwise the next crop comes in short and you will not see why.
- Production chains multiply value at every step. Wheat sold raw is worth a fraction of flour, and flour is worth a fraction of the bread a Bakery makes from it, so run your own harvest through the chain before you sell anything.
- Match machinery to terrain rather than buying the biggest available. Erlengrat's slopes and 25 medium fields punish oversized combines that cannot turn, while Elmcreek's 82 flat fields reward them.
- Use helpers for the repetitive passes and drive the tricky ones yourself. Hired workers handle straight field work but they are poor at field edges, headlands and anything involving a trailer on a slope.
- Feed animals a mixed ration rather than one input. Cows fed only grass produce far less than cows on a proper mix, and the same principle applies to pigs, where a single feed type wastes most of the herd's potential.
- Terrain tools are undo friendly. You can raise, lower, flatten and repaint ground, and every placed building can be sold back, so laying out a farm yard badly on the first attempt costs almost nothing to fix.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Buying a large combine in the first hour instead of leasing one for the harvest, which locks up the money that should have bought land.
- Sowing outside the seasonal window and then waiting a full in game year for a field that will never sprout.
- Selling everything at the nearest sell point the moment the trailer fills, ignoring that prices move month to month and that the same grain is worth far more processed.
- Skipping lime and weeding because the field still looks green, then blaming the harvester when the yield comes in a third under expectation.
- Running oversized machinery on Erlengrat's alpine slopes, where a large combine cannot turn in a 25 field map built around medium sized ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best map to start on?
Elmcreek. It has 82 fields, mostly flat working ground and several production plants already placed on the map, so you can learn the crop cycle and the production chains without fighting the terrain.
How do seasons change the game?
Crops now have sowing and harvesting windows tied to in game months, and growth advances a stage per month. You choose how long a month lasts when creating the save, so seasons can be as short as a single day.
Are production chains worth the money?
Yes, and they are the largest margin increase available. There are 13 production plants, and each step from grain to flour to bread multiplies what the same harvest is worth compared with selling it raw.
Which crops are new in Farming Simulator 22?
Grapes, olives and sorghum. Grapes and olives suit the slopes and climate of Haut-Beyleron, while sorghum joins wheat, barley and oats as a grain the Grain Mill will process into flour.
Do I need DLC maps?
No. The three base maps cover flat, hilly and alpine farming. Silverrun Forest from the Platinum Expansion is worth it if you want forestry as a main income, since it starts with over 20,000 trees, and Zielonka from the Premium Expansion adds a further farming region.
More Farming Simulator 22 Guides
- Farming Simulator 22 Best Builds
- Farming Simulator 22 Tier List
- Farming Simulator 22 Walkthrough
- Farming Simulator 22 Beginner's Guide
- Farming Simulator 22 Tips & Tricks
- Farming Simulator 22 Weapons Guide
- Farming Simulator 22 Combat Guide
- Farming Simulator 22 Boss Guide
- Farming Simulator 22 Maps & Locations
- Farming Simulator 22 Crafting Guide
- Farming Simulator 22 Classes & Characters
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