If you’re at all like me, you likely have many hundreds of hours and countless playthroughs invested in Stardew Valley. It’s just that type of game; the one you can boot up and play seemingly endlessly. But after a time, you start to wonder what else is out there. Not other games, mind you. But other farms. To mix things up for your next playthrough, here are a few Stardew Valley farm ideas!
Stardew Valley Farm Ideas
I always find it challenging to come up with unique ideas for my next farm, and no, I’m not talking about the usual Stardew Valley farm layout ideas that you find everywhere these days. Why would I want to copy someone else’s layout? That’s just boring and removes all personality from the playthrough.
Instead, I want ideas for playstyles. For instance, in my current farm, I’m of course romancing Haley as per usual, but on the crop side, I’m focusing on hops for a brewery.
Brewery
As mentioned, I’m currently working on a brewery-style farm focusing on hop production. As soon as the first Summer began, I invested heavily in Hops from Pierre’s instead of my usual efficient money-making methods, like Melons. Most of my field is now covered in Hops, and then I can stockpile them until I have enough Kegs to make serious money.
Like with Wine, Beer takes time. Once you put it in the Keg, it’s about 29 in-game hours, so significantly less time than Wine, thankfully. With Artisan (+40%), you can earn up to 560g per beer sold, so volume is key here!
Winery
It takes 7 in-game days to ferment fruit into Wine in Stardew Valley. Depending on which fruit you use, you can sell each bottle for a staggering amount, and, with Artisan (+40%), you can sell it for an additional 1.4x the base price of the bottle.
A winery farm in Stardew Valley is a ton of work, commitment, and patience. You’ll want to focus on high-ROI and high-yield crops, such as Starfruit, Ancient Fruit, Pineapple, Melon, and Strawberry. For a quick fix and constant income, plant a bunch of Grapes, Blueberries, and Cranberries during their respective seasons.
Stardew Valley: How to Mod
Orchard
Growing up around orchards in the northeast made me really nostalgic for apple trees once I moved away from my home state. I don’t have the opportunity to return home frequently, but I do have a chance to live vicariously through my character in Stardew Valley. By foregoing animals and crops and instead focusing on fruit-bearing trees, you can turn your next playthrough into the second fruitiest venture in your home.
Of course, fruit doesn’t sell for copious amounts of gold in Stardew Valley, but that’s okay. It’s about the aesthetics and challenge, right? You could always combine the orchard with the winery, or split them down the middle and do a half-and-half farm.
Beekeeper
I’m allergic to bees; I don’t want them near me. But in Stardew Valley, they’re adorable enough that I forget my immense hate for those buzzing bastards to invest in quality infrastructure that nets me Honey. After all, Honey is an Artisan Good that sells for 100g Base and 140G with Artisan (+40%). But hey, don’t stop there. You can turn Honey into Mead, a fermented beverage crafted with a Keg, to earn up to 840g per bottle!
Now tell me you don’t want to play tons of flowers and beehives around your farm!
Livestock
Now, it is obvious that farm animals play a significant part in the core Stardew Valley experience. One of your earliest quests in the game is to construct a coop for chickens. But what if you forego crops altogether and focus solely on animals?
You could use an open-plan farm layout, with no fences whatsoever, or a single large fence to corral all your animals into a single pen. Then, place the livestock structures near the top or left-hand side to keep them clean and out of the way. Fill the interior space with grass, especially blue grass, to cut down on feed costs.