Verified against Farming Simulator 25 patch 1.23.x, live as of September 2026. GIANTS Software still ships regular content and balance patches [1][2], so prices below can shift a few percent — the decision-making won’t.
Most “getting started” guides here are a list of tractor prices with no math behind them. This one has the math: what $100,000 in starting capital actually buys, when a lease beats a purchase, and which contract type pays for your first combine fastest. It also corrects a claim spreading through AI-summarized FS25 guides right now — more on that near the end.
Quick Start: Your First Session, Step by Step
Do these in order and you’ll be selling your first harvest inside 30-45 real minutes, not fumbling through menus.
- Pick New Farmer mode unless you’ve played a previous Farming Simulator (see the mode breakdown below).
- In the settings screen, turn seasonal growth off and field stones off for your first save — you can re-enable both later [3].
- Set the AI worker refill option to “buy” so hired help doesn’t stall out of fuel or seed mid-job [3].
- Skip the tutorial only if you’ve farmed in FS22 — otherwise run it once; it covers attaching implements, which trips up more new players than anything else.
- Check the map for an open contract before touching your own field — contracts hand you the equipment, so you bank cash before spending any.
- Cultivate (not plow) your first field — a single, cheaper pass, adequate for wheat or barley [7].
- Sow, then fertilize once before harvest — skipping it costs more yield than the fertilizer saves.
- Sell at the nearest point first; don’t chase the “best” price in session one.
Pick the Right Difficulty Mode — Most New Players Get This Wrong
The three-mode split isn’t just an easy/medium/hard slider. Each one changes what you’re actually doing for your first ten hours.
| Mode | You start with | Economy | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Farmer | Fields, buildings, grain equipment, starting cash | Easy, forgiving prices [3][4] | First-time players — you’re learning controls, not managing debt |
| Farm-Manager | No land or equipment, but a large cash pool | Normal — you choose what to grow from day one [4] | Players who’ve finished a previous FS game and want control over their first purchases |
| Start from Scratch | Nothing but a truck, minimal cash | Realistic, tough prices [4] | Veterans who want the equipment math in this guide to actually matter |
New Farmer’s pre-built equipment set is why most beginner guides skip equipment cost entirely. On that mode, jump straight to the crop and contract sections below — the buying advice here is for Farm-Manager and Start from Scratch starts, or your second farm.
What $100,000 Actually Buys You
Farm-Manager and Start from Scratch both hand you cash instead of gear, and the default new-save starting amount is $100,000 (adjustable up to $1,000,000 at setup, if you’d rather skip the budgeting entirely) [5]. Here’s what that buys at real FS25 prices [6]:
| Item | Price | What it does for you |
|---|---|---|
| Landini REX 4 GT tractor | $39,500 | 70-112 hp, manual — enough to pull a cultivator and drill on a starter field |
| John Deere 3650 tractor | $45,000 | 116 hp, powershift option — the better all-rounder if you can stretch the budget |
| Small cultivator + seed drill (combined) | ~$15,000-$20,000 | Field prep and sowing for a 5-10 hectare starter field |
| MF 8570 combine harvester | $104,500 | 250 hp — this alone exceeds most starting budgets; contract-harvest or borrow one instead |
The math that matters: a $45,000 tractor plus $20,000 in tillage gear already eats two-thirds of a $100,000 Farm-Manager start, before a trailer or harvester. That’s why experienced players lease their combine instead of buying on day one — not because leasing is smarter, but because a $104,500 purchase leaves no working capital for seed, fertilizer, or fuel until the first sale clears [6].
The decision rule: lease anything you’ll use for fewer than roughly two full seasons or that you’re not sure fits your farm yet (your first combine, any specialty harvester). Buy outright anything you’ll run every single season from here on (your main tractor, your primary tillage tool) — lease day-fees are a convenience cost that compounds past that point [6].
Contracts Before Crops: The Fastest Path to Profit
Five NPCs — Walter, Ben, David, Katie, and Noah — post contracts across the map, and payout varies more by contract type than by field size [8]. Fertilizing is the strongest pick for a new farm: it pays well, completes fast with a high-range spreader, and the game supplies the equipment, so nothing of yours is at risk [9]. Wood Transport ranks second because most new players don’t own a log trailer — borrowing one for a job that pays over $15,000 is close to free money [9].
Be more selective with two types. Spraying pays similarly to fertilizing, but Herbicine cost eats the margin unless the payout is high — check before accepting [9]. Grain harvesting only pays off with a combine that has internal storage; without one, you’ll spend more time shuttling to a trailer than harvesting [9]. New in FS25 vs. FS19/FS22: some contracts carry a time limit, and borrowed equipment can’t touch your own fields — don’t accept a big contract the same day you plan to sow [8].
Your First Crop: Wheat or Barley, Not What the Ads Show You
Cotton sells for roughly $3,200 a unit and soybeans for about $2,300, which is why they show up in every “best crops” thumbnail [5]. Neither belongs in season one. Cotton needs dedicated planting and harvesting gear you can’t afford yet, and an 8-month growth cycle means one bad call costs most of a year [5]. Wheat and barley need none of that and still return a solid, predictable price — a fast, cheap crop cycle means you find out what you did wrong in one season instead of three [7]. Move to a higher-value crop or livestock once your tractor and tillage set are paid off, not before.
Your Plan Depends on Why You’re Playing
Generic advice fails here because a completionist and a new player shouldn’t be doing the same thing in week one.
| Player type | Priority |
|---|---|
| New player | New Farmer mode. Take every contract you see, even low-paying ones — the goal is learning the systems risk-free, not maximizing $/hour yet. |
| Casual player | Farm-Manager mode, buy your main tractor and tillage set outright to avoid repeat lease fees, lease everything else. One crop, one contract type (fertilizing), repeat. |
| Hardcore / optimiser | Start from Scratch. Track $/hour across contracts vs. your own crops — fertilizing contracts alone can outpace early crop income, so don’t assume growing is always better than contracting. |
| Completionist | Target the $250,000 in map collectibles on your starting map early [5] — it’s a one-time cash injection that funds equipment you’d otherwise wait seasons for, and it doesn’t compete with your farm’s time budget. |
Five Mistakes That Drain a New Farm
- Buying a harvester before your first sale clears. A $104,500 combine plus a $45,000 tractor on day one leaves nothing for seed or fuel — borrow or contract-harvest until your second field pays out [6].
- Leaving seasonal growth on without knowing it. New players who skip the settings screen lose entire plantings to timing they didn’t know existed [3].
- Skipping the fertilizer pass to save a few hundred dollars. The lost yield is worth more than the fertilizer, almost every time [7].
- Taking a large contract right before sowing your own field. Borrowed equipment is locked to that contract’s fields — plan the order [8].
- Skipping the settings screen entirely. Field stones and AI worker fuel/seed defaults both add friction that has nothing to do with learning the game [3].
One Myth You Can Ignore: The “15% Crop Rotation Bonus”
Several guides and AI-generated summaries currently circulating describe a base-game crop rotation system giving up to a 15% yield bonus for rotating grain, oilseed, and root crops. It isn’t in the base game — it’s a third-party mod. GIANTS Software’s own ModHub listing describes it as bringing “a realistic crop rotation system” to the game, which only makes sense if the base game doesn’t already have one [12]. Download it if you want that depth; just don’t plan season-one crop choices around a bonus the vanilla game doesn’t track.
One more area where the numbers genuinely aren’t settled: FS25’s direct-sell option at production facilities and Farmer’s Market stalls both claim to pay above standard sell-point prices, but players report conflicting figures for the exact fee or bonus — some citing roughly 10% and others closer to 40% depending on the setting and the source. Check your own save’s economy settings in-game rather than trusting a specific percentage from any guide, this one included.
FAQ
Should I buy or lease my first tractor?
Buy it if it’s your main tractor — you’ll run it every season for years of in-game time, and lease fees on a permanent tool add up past roughly two seasons of use. Lease everything you’re not sure you’ll keep using, especially your first combine [6].
Is New Farmer mode too easy to be worth playing?
No — it removes the equipment-budget decisions in this guide so you can learn field work and contracts without a second layer of financial risk. Move to Farm-Manager on save two, once those systems are second nature [3][4].
What’s the single fastest way to make money in the first few hours?
Fertilizing contracts, not your own crops. They pay well, use provided equipment, and complete in under an hour with a decent-range spreader — a wheat harvest takes real in-game months to pay out by comparison [9].
Does crop rotation actually boost yield in FS25?
Not in the base game. It’s a popular mod, not a built-in mechanic — see the myth section above [12].
Key Takeaways
Start in New Farmer mode unless you’ve played before. If you’re managing your own budget, the real math is: a main tractor plus tillage gear already eats most of a $100,000 start, so lease your first combine rather than buy it, and let fertilizing contracts fund your equipment instead of your own slow-growing crops. Wheat or barley first, always — not the high-value crops the marketing images show. And skip the “crop rotation bonus” unless you’ve actually installed the mod that adds it.
This guide covers early-game equipment and money decisions — expect dedicated spoke guides on individual crops, map choices, and contract-specific strategy as this category grows.
Sources
- GIANTS Software Forum — Patch 1.21 for Farming Simulator 25
- patched.gg — Farming Simulator 25 patch history (not linked inline; used only for the version-currency note)
- Farming Simulator official news — Settings & New Save Game
- BisectHosting — Beginner’s Guide: Tips, Tricks & New Player Walkthrough
- BisectHosting — Money Making Guide
- BisectHosting — Vehicles Guide: Prices, Stats & Categories
- gameservercheck.com — FS25 Beginner’s Guide
- Farming Simulator Wiki — Contracts: Farming Simulator 25
- GameRant — Best Contracts to Complete in Farming Simulator 25
- Modland.net — Farm Stalls and Markets in Farming Simulator 25 (pre-release coverage, not linked inline; feature-existence reference only)
- Farming Simulator Wiki — Farming Simulator 25 overview
- Official ModHub — Crop Rotation mod listing
I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.