Farming Simulator 22 Cow Guide: Pastures, Barns, Feed, Milk, and Selling Cattle

Cows are one of the most profitable animal options in Farming Simulator 22, but they need more planning than chickens or bees. Housing, water, feed, manure handling, milk collection, and breeding all matter if you want cattle to pay for themselves.

This guide explains cow pastures, barns, buying cattle, caring for them, and turning their products into income.

Cow Pastures and Barns in Farming Simulator 22

Before buying cows, you need the right housing. Cattle can live in a pasture, standard barn, large barn, or large barn with robots. Each option has a different capacity and startup cost.

Cow Housing Options

• Pasture: Costs $75,000 and holds up to 15 cows.
• Standard barn: Costs $254,000 and holds up to 45 cows.
• Large barn: Costs $518,500 and holds up to 80 cows.
• Large barn with robots: Costs $722,500, holds up to 80 cows, and includes feeding robots.

Place housing through the in-game shop on a suitable part of your farm. Flat land is best because Farming Simulator 22 charges extra when it has to level terrain during placement.

If you later change your layout, select the building and choose Demolish or Sell to recover part of the cost.

Manure Management

Cows, pigs, and sheep can produce manure. To collect and manage manure from cow housing, place a Manure Heap Extension for each cow pasture or barn. It costs $25,000 and is found in the Construction section of the shop under Silo Extensions.

Manure can be sold for extra money or used as fertilizer. Either way, it is worth setting up if you plan to keep cattle long term.

How to Buy Cows

Open the shop with P by default on PC, select the menu icon on the left sidebar, then choose Animal Dealer. You can also walk to the floating paw icon beside the pasture or barn and press R.

After selecting the housing where the cattle should go, choose from the available cow types:

• Young Brown-Swiss: $200
• Brown-Swiss, 12 months: $1,100
• Brown-Swiss, 18 months: $1,550
• Young Holstein: $200
• Holstein, 12 months: $1,100
• Holstein, 18 months: $1,550
• Young Angus: $300
• Angus, 12 months: $1,150
• Angus, 18 months: $1,575
• Young Limousin: $300
• Limousin, 12 months: $1,150
• Limousin, 18 months: $1,575

These prices do not include transport fees. You can also sell cows from this same animal menu.

The source guide identifies Angus and Limousin as dairy cows, while Holstein and Brown-Swiss are used for breeding. Keep that distinction in mind when planning your herd.

Checking Cow Status

Open the menu with Escape by default, then select the cow icon to open the Animals tab. This screen shows each cow’s current condition.

Important details include:

• Name
• Value
• Age
• Health
• Reproduction cycle
• Productivity
• Water consumed
• Milk produced
• Food consumed, including hay, grass, and total mixed ration

When a dairy cow’s milk gauge is full, it no longer produces more milk until it is emptied. At that point, either collect the product or consider selling cattle if your pasture is crowded.

Feeding and Watering Cows

Cow pastures require water, while barns only need food. Cows in a pasture can graze, but grass gives limited productivity.

To supply water, buy a tanker from the shop under Tools and Animals. The cheapest vanilla option named in the source is the Joskin Aquatrans 7,300 S, which costs $9,500 and holds 7,300 liters.

Attach the tanker to a tractor, fill it at a nearby water source, drive to the cow pasture, park beside the water icon, and press I by default to unload water into the reservoir.

For food, cows can eat:

• Grass for 40% productivity
• Hay for higher productivity
• Total Mixed Ration, or TMR, for 100% productivity

TMR is made by mixing silage, hay, straw, and mineral feed in a Mixer Wagon. It is the best feed option if profit matters. Cows can consume feed reasonably fast, so check the pasture or barn supply often.

Making Money From Cows

Cows can produce manure, slurry, and milk depending on their housing and care. Milk is generally more valuable than slurry, so it should be a major focus when running a dairy setup.

To sell milk, collect it at the Milk icon beside the pasture or barn, then open the Prices tab. Choose the buyer offering the highest price and deliver the milk there.

You can also sell cattle directly. Adult cows sell for more than calves, but keep enough space in the housing if you want new calves to spawn. A full pasture blocks new births, which is one of those small details that can quietly cost money.

For multiplayer farms, a HolyHosting Farming Simulator 22 server lets different players split jobs like feed mixing, water hauling, and milk delivery.