Farming is a challenging and essential mechanic within Manor Lords that has you balance workers while producing enough yield to feed your village. Here are some tips and guides to help you become a farming master.
Growing crops like Wheat are essential to survival in Manor Lords while other crops can improve quality of life and Regional Wealth. Getting a Farm Field started and maintained is tricky because if you’re timing is off, or there are no Families to work the fields, starvation is likely imminent. Picking a random spot to plant a field will get you in trouble too, as a Farm Field requires fertility to produce an adequate number of crops.
What is Emmer Fertility in Manor Lords?
All land in Manor Lords has a fertility rating, with green being good and red bad. Your first crop from a Farm Field should always be Wheat (Emmer), as food is essential and a solid yield will increase the number of months your village can go without producing more food.
Use green areas to plant your Emmer (Wheat) Farm Fields. You can always plant additional Farm Fields in the future for other types of crops.
To determine the Emmer Fertility, click on the construction tab and then check crop fertility through the Manor Lords overlay tabs on the right side of the screen.
How to build a Farm Field in Manor Lords
The first Farm Field you craft should be around one Morgen, or two English acres of land, in size or less. You can always add more fields. The goal is to get the most out of your first field based on population size. To start, determine a good spot for a Wheatfield based on Emmer Fertility, and construct the field. Set the Crop Type to Fallow and then focus on other areas of importance like hunting for food and firewood for fuel.
What is Fallow in Manor Lords?
A Fallow is a restoration of ground fertility in Manor Lords. To produce yields for your population, the soil has to be healthy. When you first lay the Farm Field, it needs to Fallow until the fall season, producing a solid yield of crops the following year. Farming requires Families to work the Farm Fields starting in September.
A larger field for multiple fields will require additional families to ensure the crop is planted and harvested properly.
How to grow crops in Manor Lords
Once you’ve established basic resources for your village, construct a Farmhouse near your Farm Field. If you have extra Families for construction, build the Windmill and Communal Oven too. Assign one Family to the Farmhouse in Manor Lords toward the end of summer, where they will harvest and plow the land before winter hits. Plowing and sowing take place when spring starts in March. Harvesting will always take place during the fall. And you can get by with minimal work during the summer months if you need to shift Families around. The Family assigned to the Farm Field will thresh the Wheat into Flour.
Crops like Barley are transformed into Malt for the Tavern while Flax is crafted into Linen. The Malthouse converts the Barley into Malt. And the Weaver Workshop turns Flax into Linen. Assigning a Family to Weaver Workshop will pull them from the labor pool.
I found both Barley and Flax in Manor Lords to be non-essential goods unless used to create Regional Wealth by establishing a Trading Route for them. As your village grows, though, they become more important as a Tavern and more clothing options will raise Approval. And if you have an abundance, trading is always an option.
