Animal lovers, rejoice!
Stardew Valley’s massive 1.6 update has brought a different farm type, the Meadowlands Farm, to the cozy farming game. This brand-new farm includes a unique new grass type as well as a free coop with two chickens. But is this farm as good as it sounds?
The Meadowlands Farm
There are eight different farm types to choose from when starting your game. Each comes with perks and drawbacks that tend to encourage a specific gameplay style. For example, the Wilderness Farm type spawns more monsters, which lends it more to combat-focused gameplay.
The Meadowlands Farm is the newest addition in update 1.6 and is geared towards an animal-focused gameplay style. The in-game description of this farm-type says, “It’s not the best for growing crops, but there’s a chewy blue grass that animals love. You start with two chickens.”
The two chickens that you start off with are already in a cozy coop with a pre-built fence so they can peck around without worry. You start off completely set up! They even have an adorable waterfall to look at.
In fact, this farm is so geared towards raising animals that the player receives 15 pieces of hay on their first day instead of the traditional 15 parsnip seeds. But if you don’t want to put all your eggs into one basket — literally — there’s also an area of tileable soil close to your cabin. It’s smaller than in the traditional farm, but it’s still a good place to start off with farming as well to support your early game.
If you prefer to raise animals over farming, then the Meadowlands Farm is definitely the one for you! Especially when you consider the benefits that the new blue grass gives to your farm.
What is blue grass?
Blue grass is the main highlight of the Meadowlands Farm. This special new variant doubles your friendship gain with your animals compared to normal grass. This is a huge advantage when starting out, especially if your focus is on animals instead of growing crops.
The blue grass grows naturally around this farm type, so you don’t have to worry about buying any starter seeds from the store.
Is the Meadowlands Farm worth it?
If you’re still considering whether to start a new game on update 1.6 with the Meadowlands Farm, then we’ll give you a short pro and con list.
Pros
- Blue grass gives a huge advantage to raising animals and selling high-quality animal products quickly
- Starting off with a free coop and two chickens also massively boosts early-game production
- There’s enough space to start a small farm near your cabin
Cons
- Ponds are very far away from your cabin, which makes refilling your watering can a pain
- You’ll have to build a silo pretty early on to best support your animals
- The closest area for farming is a little small, and the other farming areas are blocked by ponds and forests
All in all, if you’re looking to focus your farm on raising animals, then the Meadowlands Farm is the one for you. It’s a well-balanced farm layout with the only big drawback being how far away the ponds are. However, that can be solved by building a well. So it’s an easy fix!
Have fun raising all the chickens, cows, sheep, ducks, rabbits, pigs, goats, ostriches, dinosaurs, and slimes your heart desires! For more updates on Stardew Valley and esports news, check back on esports.gg!