Farmhouse

The Farmhouse is a basic agricultural dwelling used to house farmers and organize crop production. It appears as an early-to-mid game building that provides shelter for workers assigned to farming tasks and acts as a focal point for maintaining crop labor in a settlement. The Farmhouse is part of the colony’s agricultural chain and is commonly used alongside fields, crop markers, and processing buildings (Grill, Mill, Bakery, Fermenter, Oil Press, Food Factory) to convert raw harvests into final foodstuffs.

Farmhouses are placed near crop plots to minimize farmer travel time and to keep a concentrated workforce available for planting and harvesting. They do not process food themselves but enable stable farming operations by increasing the effective number of farmers able to tend adjacent fields. Proper placement of Farmhouses relative to crop plots, water sources, and storage (warehouses) affects overall farm efficiency.

Crops and processing interactions relevant to farm operations:

• Carrots mature in 4 days and yield 3 per plot; they are edible raw and provide a high short-term food-per-day rate for early colonies.
• Sunflowers mature in 5 days and yield 2 per plot; edible raw and useful as a mid-tier crop.
• Potatoes mature in 6 days and yield 1 raw potato per plot; potatoes must be cooked at a Grill (using logs and a worker) where 4 cooked potatoes are produced from the raw yield, giving 4 food per plot after processing.
• Wheat matures in 10 days and yields 3 wheat per plot; wheat must be milled into flour at a Mill (requires horsepower and a worker), then baked into bread at a Bakery (requires logs and a worker). Each wheat plot ultimately produces 15 bread (3 wheat → 3 flour → 15 bread), giving 1.5 food per day per plot and making wheat the highest long-term food density.
• More advanced crops (Kohlrabi, Cassava, Canola, Soybean, Corn, Eggplant) require specific processors (Fermenter, Oil Press, Food Factory) and power to convert into their respective processed foods; these processors form part of an expanded agricultural-industrial chain a Farmhouse supports by concentrating farmers.

Practical usage and strategy notes:

• Place Farmhouses close to fields to minimize travel time and maximize planting/harvesting cycles. Clumping multiple Farmhouses near large fields reduces downtime.
• Start with carrots for quick, reliable food. Transition to potatoes and sunflowers as infrastructure grows, then build mills and bakeries to convert wheat once you can sustain the supply chain and want higher long-term food density.
• Set field tiles to appropriate planting priorities and use crop markers (Plant Crops menu) to keep crop types organized and avoid accidental replanting with the wrong crop.
• Cooked and processed foods require additional buildings and workers; ensure adequate logs, horsepower and workshop availability before committing large acreage to processed crops like wheat or oil/fermented products.
• Pair Farmhouses with nearby warehouses to shorten transfer distance to storage; efficient storage and transport chains reduce spoilage of processed goods and keep farmers focused on production.
• For continuous harvesting without idle periods, calculate field size against crop growth time and farmer count (for example, carrot fields benefit from planting patterns that keep a steady harvest rhythm).