Every Farm Option and Their Differences in Stardew Valley

With the latest 1.6 update now rolled out, we have a total of eight farm maps to choose from. However, it might be difficult to decide which map is the right choice for you. So, here’s every farm option and their differences in Stardew Valley.

Stardew Valley: Every Farm Option and Their Differences

Your farm is the focal point of your Stardew Valley experience. The map options have gone up by one, with Patch 1.6 adding the Meadowlands Farm. Since the map you choose is important to how you play the game, knowing your options and what makes them different is super helpful.

Standard Farm

First, we have the Standard Farm. This is the default option, and it’s definitely a solid choice, especially for beginners. If you’re just starting the game and making your first save file, I definitely recommend this option. It’s composed of mostly farmable land, meaning that the majority of tiles here can be tilled. As such, it’s perfect for growing crops.

Riverland Farm

The Riverland Farm is the best option if you want to do a lot of fishing. It’s mostly water, but you can catch both river and forest fish here. To help out, you start with a Fish Smoker. A Smoked Fish multiplies the original fish’s Health and Energy restoration by 1.5 and its value by 2.8. The downside with this map is the water leaves you with much less farmland, so you can’t grow as many crops or fit as many animals here as you can with the Standard Farm.

Forest Farm

The Forest Farm is ideal if you want to forage a lot of items. You have a lot of trees and berry bushes here, along with eight Large Stumps that respawn for a constant supply of Hardwood. There’s also plenty of seasonal forage items and Mixed Seeds you can pick up. If you fish here, there’s a chance you’ll get a Woodskip, but more likely you’ll get river fish. Just like the Riverland Farm, the Forest Farm has less farm space compared to the standard option.

Hill-top Farm

If you want to do a lot of mining, then the Hill-top Farm is for you. Stones, geodes, and ore deposits spawn on your land, varying based on your mining level. However, you’ll need to put effort and money into upgrading your tools to clear out boulders and stumps that might block off some of your farms. With all the mining nodes, cliffs, and a stream, your farming area is again reduced compared to the standard option.

Wilderness Farm

Maybe you need a more dangerous farm. Well, with the Wilderness Farm, monsters spawn at night with a level appropriate to your combat level. It also comes with a higher chance of spawning Wilderness Golems. When fishing, you have a chance to get lake fish. Aside from that, the farming area isn’t too bad. It’s reduced a bit due to the design of the farm with cliffs and the pond, but there’s plenty of space for you to farm and raise animals.

Four Corners Farm

The Four Corners Farm is unique in that it’s divided into four sections, and each section is based on one of the other farm maps. In the top left is the Forest Farm. To the top right, we have the Standard Farm. Then, in the bottom left is a pond that gives you forest pond fish. And in the bottom right is the Hill-top Farm. While this farm is designed for multiplayer games, there’s no reason that you can’t use it in a solo save file for some variety!

Beach Farm

This is the most difficult farm option if you want to grow crops. The Beach Farm is designed for foraging and fishing. It spawns forest and beach foraging items, and sometimes you get a Supply Crate that washes up on your shore. Fishing here gives you ocean fish and sometimes Oysters, Coral, Mussels, or Cockles.

The biggest drawback for regular farming here is that sprinklers don’t work on the majority of the map because of the sandy soil. So, you either need to water everything yourself, be careful in your crop placement, or build a Greenhouse.

Meadowlands Farm

If you love raising animals, then Meadowlands Farm is for you. It grows Blue Grass, which you harvest with a Sickle to feed your animals. Plus, you start off with a Coop and two chickens inside it. There’s still plenty of room for planting crops, but Mayor Lewis gives you Hay instead of Parsnip Seeds when you start the game. Also, there’s a river here where you can find forest pond fish. Compared to the standard option, you have less actual farmland. However, you have an easier time sustaining animals with the Blue Grass growing here.

And that covers every farm option and their differences in Stardew Valley. There’s a ton of new features and items that were added with Patch 1.6. So, be sure to head to our guide hub for topics like how to get Perfection Waivers or how to earn and use Mastery Points.