[Crops 101] How To Sow & Harvest Wheat

Welcome to your next "Crops 101" lesson of the Farming Simulator Academy! Wheat is one of the easiest crops to start with. In this tutorial, we show you how to sow, care for, harvest, and use it.

What Is Special About Wheat?

• Wheat is beginner-friendly and uses common field equipment.
• You can use wheat as feed for pigs and chickens.
• When harvesting wheat, you can also produce straw as a useful by-product.
• Straw is used for TMR which is fed to cows and as bedding in compatible barns for manure production.
• The same combine harvester and grain header can be used for several other grain crops.

What You Need For Wheat

Wheat uses standard field equipment. The machines shown above cover the complete growing cycle.

• Tractor: Operates the tools used for field preparation, sowing, and crop care.
• Cultivator: Prepares the soil before sowing. Use a plow instead if the field information box says it is required it.
• Seeder: Sows wheat and needs to be filled with seeds.
• Roller: Optional after sowing for a small additional yield bonus.
• Fertilizer spreader: Applies solid fertilizer and, depending on the model, lime.
• Hoe: Removes weeds before they reduce your yield.
• Harvester with a grain header: Harvests ripe wheat.
• Trailer: Transports wheat to storage, a selling point, or production.

Let's Get To Work!

With seasonal growth enabled, sow wheat in September or October and harvest it in July or August.

Step 1: Applying lime

Check the field information before you start. If the field needs lime, fill a compatible fertilizer spreader with lime and cover the entire field. If no lime is required, simply skip this step.

Step 2: Cultivating the field

Prepare the soil with a cultivator. Check the field information first: if plowing is required, use a plow instead. If your seeder supports direct seeding, you can skip cultivating.

Need a refresher? See how field preparation works.

Step 3: Sowing wheat

Fill your seeder with seeds and select wheat as the crop. Lower and activate the seeder, then work across the field until the whole area is covered.

New to seeders? Here's our seeding guide.

Step 4: Rolling the field

Rolling is optional and gives a small additional yield bonus. Lower the roller and cover the freshly sown field once.

Want the extra yield bonus? Learn more about rolling.

Step 5: Fertilizing

Apply fertilizer to increase your yield. You can fertilize twice per crop cycle, with a growth stage between applications. Unload leftover lime before refilling the spreader with fertilizer.

Tip! If you use manure or slurry, you can activate the double application rate to reach full fertilization with one application.

Want the full rundown? Read our fertilizing guide.

Step 6: Removing weeds

Remove weeds early with a weeder. Once they become larger, you need a hoe or herbicide instead, so early weed control is usually cheaper.

Tip! If crop destruction is enabled, use narrow tires when driving through growing wheat to avoid damaging your plants.

Wondering which weed tool to use? Here's the guide.

Step 7: Harvesting wheat

When wheat is ready, attach the grain header to your combine harvester. Lower and activate it, then harvest row by row. Unload into a trailer whenever the grain tank gets full.

If you also want straw, activate the straw swath before harvesting. The combine will leave a straw swath behind on the field for later collection.

Tip! A header trailer is optional, but it can make road transport easier when your grain header is especially wide.

Step 8: Selling and using wheat

Transport the wheat in your trailer. Sell it, store it in a suitable silo, feed it to pigs or chickens, or deliver it to a grain mill. Check the prices screen before choosing a selling point.

Processing Wheat: Products

Deliver wheat to a grain mill to turn it into flour. Flour can then be used at a bakery for further production. The overview above shows the available production route.

Well Done!

Congratulations! You now know the basics of growing wheat in Farming Simulator. When you're ready, continue with the next Farming Simulator Academy lesson!