Talk farms to me

[Ma Springs]

I'm starting to think about getting my own farm. When is it a good idea? And what to consider? I would really appreciate some input!

At the moment I have 592 horses:
256 racers
152 yearlings
107 mares and stallions
69 foals
8 pensioners

I usually green pasture all pensioners when they turn 5.

I don't have 1st class shipping enabled (couldn't afford it/too stingy...If that is a word ), only turn it on temporary when shipping far.

How is the economy/how many horses would you need for a farm to be a good investment?

Buy or build? And if build, what to consider when placing it (part of the world where you are most active or where there are no other farms? close to a track...?)?

Amenities - some or all?

Many thanks for your comments!

[Lance Macisaac]

Ran some numbers for you!

Assuming every horse is being kept at a $20 board farm, that's $11,840/w. If your farm costs $2,000,000, and you begin boarding all of your horses there, it will take approximately 169 sim weeks to save that much by not having to pay board. Other things to consider are a) that all of your horses right now probably aren't being kept at $20 board farms, so you'd save more by moving those to your own barn than the $20 ones, b) that it probably won't be plausible to keep all of your horses in one place and may incur extra shipping expense if you do, and c) that other people might board on your farm and earn you some money.

I'd probably place it in an active part of the world to keep your horses closer to the racing and in order to make some income from board. If there are no farms in a location, it probably means that location is a long way to most tracks. And if you're going to be looking to make board income, I'd definitely get all amenities. If I'm choosing a home location, not having all the amenities would be a dealbreaker unless there are no other good options.

Hope that helps!

[Laura Ferguson]

In addition, every four weeks, you pay $20,000 in farm expenses, so factor that into the offset costs when figuring out whether it is worth owning a farm versus paying board. In addition, if you have horses that race on Day 5 or Day 6, they may be at a track (board is calculated when the SIM calendar turns over to Day 6), and paying board there.

Sometimes people sell farms, and when a stable disperses, if they own a farm, that farm becomes available for $500k (first come, first serve), which helps with some of the math that Lance describes. Of course, in those instances, the location is pre-set.

Agree on amenities.

[Anthony Zappulla]

Where do you see that farm go up for 500k when someone quits?

[Louise Bayou]

Where do you see that farm go up for 500k when someone quits?

You will have to check the Farms page to see it.

As far as farms go, I find that they are only worth it if you have a lot of horses. Because you are not going to make money on board from others. There are just to many farms at this point.

[Ma Springs]

Ok, thank you all! I get a feeling my money is better spent investing in horses than in a farm at this point. I'm taking notes for possible future use.

[Kent Saunders]

Another thing to consider is "Where" the farm is. For it to really work for you it needs to be close to where you do alot of racing. That is in addition to the previously mentioned thoughts

[Ma Springs]

Another thing to consider is "Where" the farm is. For it to really work for you it needs to be close to where you do alot of racing. That is in addition to the previously mentioned thoughts

Yes. Good. Right now my horses seem to be scattered all over the place, lol! But when/if the day comes I think I have a rough idea about the Where.