A brief rundown of the best first fields to buy when playing Start From Scratch mode on the Felsbrunn Map.
Other Farming Simulator 19 Guides:
- Farming Simulator 19 – Plowing and Cultivation Tips
- Farming Simulator 19 – Potatoes, Beets and Cotton Guide
- Farming Simulator 19 – Tips and Tricks for Beginners
Calculations
When playing Start From Scratch, you only have $500,000 to begin. With even the cheapest field on the map running at $107, 496, it’s obviously important to pick a good field to start with.
First we have to determine equipment costs. After testing, I’ve determined that harvesting 1 field will not pay the lease cost on equipment, so we will be buying our equipment instead of leasing.
Italicized items are for grain harvest, underlined for corn/sunflower. Normal text indicates it is used for either application.
I picked the Fortschritt HW 80 over the Strautman SEK 802, even though it’s slightly more expensive, because it has more than twice the carrying capacity as the base model SEK 802. To get the same equivalent capacity in the SEK 802 would cost $11,000 (halfway between the 8k and 12k capacities)
In case you’re wondering why potatoes, beets and cotton are not on the list, it’s because the starting equipment for those require more than $500,000.
So, after buying your equipment, you will have either $300,600 or $296,600 remaining. This eliminates nearly half of the fields as options. Of the remaining, several have been planted with potatoes, beets, cotton or grass.
Out of 33 fields, only 14 (2,5,11,15,17,18,21,25,26,27,28,31,32,33) are actually available options for your first field. This does make our job easier, as we have less fields to compare.
Of these 14 fields, the average cost per field acre is $62,760. Since we’re looking for the best field, we want the largest field at the cheapest per acre price.
The largest field of these options is Field 17. At 7.4 acres for $261,840, we’re looking at the remarkably cheap cost of $35,383 per acre. Since this field starts out planted with Soybean, we can buy our grain equipment. Total cost for this option woul be $461,240. Leaving us $38,760, which is actually enough to buy the Kuhn Axis 40.2 M-EMC-W fertilizer ($20,000), upgrade the 1300DT to narrow wheels($1,000) and get a BigBag of solid fertilizer($1,600).
Field 11 is the second largest field, with 5.18 acres of wheat at $192,648. $37,190 per acre. Total cost would be $392,048. Leaving $107,952 for other equipment. Since we’re talking about wheat here, we’ll want to bale the straw for extra income. Instead of buying the Finz Bizon Super Z056 and Finz Z056H, we’ll need to buy the New Holland TX 32 @$100,000 and the New Holland Tx 32 Header @$32,000. This will cost an extra $21,000. We can buy the New Holland RollBelt 150 for $49,000 and the Fliegl Schmetterling for $2,000. This will leave just barely enough for the fertilizer.
If we wanted to go with the corn/sunflower option, then Field 18 is the best option. 4.89 Acres of corn for $180,192, $36,849 per acre. Total cost for this option is $383, 592. Leaving $116,408 for any extra equipment you may want.
We’ve only forgotten one thing. Harvest income.
Field 17 with 7.4 acres of Soybeans will bring in an average of $20,579.
Field 11 will bring an average of $12,421 with wheat, or $24,294 if we bale the straw.
Field 18 with 4.89 acres of Corn will only yield an average of $13,647.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it seems obvious that Field 11 is the best field to buy first when playing Start From Scratch on the Felsbrunn map. Cost per acre is well below the average, total acreage of the field is fairly high, and the expected yield from the existing crop is substantial compared to the other options.
Field 17, while having higher acreage, just doesn’t have the same first harvest income. While it may yield better in the longterm, the short-term profit compared to Field 11 will slow your progress.
Field 18 is the best option if you want to start with Corn/Sunflowers, but doesn’t even come close to the profitability of Field 11.
I even calculated trying to buy 2 fields. The only affordable option would be Fields 26 (Corn) and 28 (Sunflower), for a total field cost of $233,016. This is $50,000 more than Field 18, while having 0.58 less acres. Average first harvest income from these two fields would be $12,083.
Feel free to check for yourself, and I think you will come to the same conclusion.
Comparison Table
