Managing grass, hay, and silage is a crucial aspect of farming in Farming Simulator 22 (FS22). Proper handling of these resources can significantly impact the efficiency and profitability of your farm. This detailed guide will cover the basics, advanced techniques, and how various mods and DLCs enhance the process.

Basic Processes

1. Grass Mowing: Start by mowing your grass using appropriate equipment. FS22 offers various mowers, including those with conditioners that allow you to skip some tedding stages.
2. Tedding: Tedding is the process of turning mowed grass to dry it out.
3. Windrowing: After tedding, use a windrower to gather the grass or hay into rows, making it easier to collect.
4. Baling and Wrapping: Use a baler to create grass or hay bales. For silage, wrap the bales to ferment them into silage bales.
5. Silage Production: Silage can also be made in bunker silos. Fill the silo with chaff (from maize or whole crops), compact it, and cover it to ferment into silage.

Advanced Techniques and Mods

MaizePlus Mod

MaizePlus is a comprehensive mod that introduces several enhancements to silage and feeding systems:

• Differentiates between grass-silage, maize-silage, and other silage types like CCM-silage and brewers grain silage.
• Introduces new feed types such as potatocut and beetcut.
• Adds more drying stages for grass, allowing players to control the tedding process more precisely.
• Integrates new machinery and placeables, including the Stade ZW4010 CCM Mill, grassland-subsoiler, and various silos for different types of feed.

All-in-One Silo System

This mod offers high-capacity silos with advanced features for storing and managing silage. It prevents fermentation or drying out, allowing you to store large quantities of silage efficiently.

Hay and Forage Pack

This pack includes various tools and machinery for handling hay and forage:

• Discbine mowers for efficient mowing.
• Tub grinders for processing hay and straw bales into feed.
• Mixers for creating Total Mixed Rations (TMR), which are essential for feeding dairy cows.

Practical Tips

1. Seasonal Cycles: Pay attention to the seasonal cycles introduced in FS22. Certain times of the year are more suitable for mowing and tedding grass due to weather conditions affecting drying times.
2. Field Management: Use the grassland-subsoiler to improve your grass fields without the need for plowing, which helps maintain the grassland condition and adds a fertilizer stage.
3. Feeding Efficiency: Utilize the various recipes and feeding systems provided by mods like MaizePlus to optimize your animal feeding process. Different animals require specific types of feed, and managing these efficiently can boost your farm’s productivity.

Conclusion

Managing grass, hay, and silage in FS22 is a multi-step process that can be greatly enhanced with the use of mods and advanced equipment. By understanding the basics and incorporating these advanced tools, you can optimize your farm operations, ensuring high productivity and profitability. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to the game, mastering these techniques will help you succeed in Farming Simulator 22.