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The cow is more than a simple animal, especially in Farming Simulator 22. Farmers who care for their cattle can turn produced goods, like milk and manure, into big profits. So, here’s everything you need to know about the cow pasture in Farming Simulator 22, how to care for your cows, and more.

Farming Simulator 22 Cow Pasture Guide

Owning and caring for cows comes with various requirements in Farming Simulator 22. These essentials are the following:

Housing

Players can't purchase cows or any other livestock without first buying the required housing. For cows, you can purchase a pasture, standard barn, large barn, and large barn with robots. Here's a quick overview of the capacity and costs for each housing option:

• Pasture: Costs $75,000 and holds up to 15 cows.
• Standard barn: Costs $254,000 and holds up to 45 cows.
• Large barn: Costs $518,500 and holds up to 80 cows.
• Large barn with robots: Costs $722,500, holds up to 80 cows, and comes with feeding robots.

Assuming that you have the funds to purchase cow housing, you can buy your pasture or barn of choice and place it in a suitable spot on your farm from the shop. Note that any establishment or structure in Farming Simulator 22 needs reasonably flat land. If not, the game charges extra for the placement to help with the additional landscaping. Note: Select a housing location and click “Demolish” or “Sell” to recover some of the expenses.

Manure Management

The cow 22 and other in-game livestock like the pig and sheep will produce manure. Farmers can sell the gathered manure for extra profit. However, you must place Manure Heap Extensions for each cow pasture in Farming Simulator 22 to properly deal with the natural fertilizer. Buy the Manure Heap Extension for $25,000 from the Construction section of the in-game shop, particularly in the Silo Extensions tab.

Buying Cows

Purchasing a cow in Farming Simulator 22 is a straightforward process. Again, access the in-game shop (press "P" by default for the PC version). Next, click on the hamburger button (the last icon on the left sidebar) and select "Animal Dealer." Alternatively, walk up to the floating paw icon next to the pasture. Then, press “R” (by default for the PC version) to open the Animal Dealer window. The game will then let you choose which housing for the cows to spawn. Once chosen, a buying menu of different cows should appear. Here, you have different livestock options with varying costs. Your choices and their prices are the following:

• Young Brown-Swiss: $200
• Brown-Swiss (12 months): $1,100
• Brown-Swiss (18 months): $1,550
• Young Holstein: $200
• Holstein (12 months): $1,100
• Holstein (18 months): $1,550
• Young Angus: $300
• Angus (12 months): $1,150
• Angus (18 months): $1,575
• Young Limousin: $300
• Limousin (12 months): $1,150
• Limousin (18 months): $1,575

Note: The costs mentioned above don't include transport fees. Players can also sell their cows in this section of the in-game shop. It’s also important to mention that the cow breeds have different purposes. In particular, the dairy cows are the Angusin and Limousin breeds, while those used for breeding are the Holstein and Brown-Swiss variants.

Cow Pasture Status

Access the in-game menu by pressing the “Escape” key (by default for the PC version). Then, click the cow icon on the left sidebar to access the "Animals" tab. Here, you can check each cow’s stats and current conditions in a pasture. The information to see in this section is the following:

• Name
• Current value
• Age
• Health
• Reproduction cycle
• Productivity
• Water consumed
• Milk produced
• Food consumed (Hay, Grass, and Total Mixed Ration)

It's important to mention that a dairy cow will no longer produce Milk when this gauge is full. At this point, you can opt to sell the livestock or keep it for breeding.

Caring

Unlike the barns that only need food, the cow pasture in Farming Simulator 22 only requires water. The cows in the pasture graze for food, eliminating the dire need for extra feed. Access the in-game shop and click on the "Tools" section for water. Then, select the "Animals" section and choose a water tanker. The least expensive in vanilla Farming Simulator 22 is the Joskin Aquatrans 7,300 S, which costs $9,500 and can hold up to 7,300 liters. Next, attach the water tanker to a tractor. Drive the tractor with the water tanker to a nearby body of water. Fill the tanker with water and return to your cow pasture. Park the water tanker next to the water icon next to the pasture. Then, press "I" (by default for the PC version) to load the water into the cow pasture's reservoir. As for food, a cow in a pasture can eat grass for nourishment. However, cows only consuming grass fills the productivity meter by 40%. Instead, give the livestock Total Mixed Ration (TMR), which you can make by mixing bales or pallets of silage, hay, straw, and mineral feed into a Mixer Wagon. Placing TMR in a cow pasture in Farming Simulator 22 grants 100% productivity for the livestock in that location. Remember, pay attention to the TMR stock in a cow pasture. Cows can consume feed reasonably fast. Failure to note the amount of TMR in the feeder may result in your cattle reverting to eating grass.

Earning Income with Cows

Cows produce manure that you can turn into sellable slurry. However, slurry is less valuable than cow milk. Speaking of Milk, gather it by going to the “Milk” icon next to the pasture. Then, open the in-game menu and click the "Prices" tab. Here, select Milk to look at the stores on the current map that can buy Milk. It's ideal to travel to the shop that can buy the Milk you gathered at the highest price. Alternatively, you can sell cows for profit. Note that adult cows sell more than calves. Be careful since a calf won't spawn if the pasture is full. Looking for more tips and tricks in Farming Simulator 22? Check out our beginner's guide here!