Need to learn how to get hay in Stardew Valley? This guide will teach you everything you need to know about acquiring hay. Additionally, we will go over how to feed your animals with that hay and how to store some for the winter. You’ll have a thriving animal farm, full of happy animals in no time!
Table of Contents
Cutting Grass with a Scythe
The best and most cost-efficient way to acquire hay is to cut grass with a scythe. There are a couple of things you need to know to be able to harvest hay from the grass around your farm. Let’s dive right in!
Build a Silo
Before you can start harvesting hay from grass you will need to have a silo built on your farm. First, you will need to acquire the materials needed for Robin to construct one on your farm. Fortunately, a silo is extremely cheap to build. All you will need is 100g, 100 stone, 10 clay, and 5 copper bars. The stone and copper can be found easily in the lower levels of the mines. You can find clay by simply using your hoe on the dirt around your farm or the town.
Once you have everything you need, make sure you have a 3 by 3 location cleared where you would like to place your silo. Finally, take your materials and head on down to Robin’s carpentry shop during the hours it is open. The shop is closed on Tuesday. However, it is open 9 am-5 pm every other day except for Friday when it closes at 4 pm instead. Talk to Robin at the register and purchase a silo and select the 3-by-3 location you picked out. Simply wait two days and you will have your silo!
How to Get Hay in Stardew Valley by Cutting Grass
Once you have a silo, you are ready to get hay in Stardew Valley by cutting grass. Put your scythe in your hotbar and find a good patch of grass on your farm. Start swinging away and the scythe will clear the grass on the tiles in front of you. There is a 50% chance a piece of hay will automatically be added to your silo for every tile of grass cleared. If you cut grass outside of your farm, you will have hay added to your inventory instead. Later in the game, the golden scythe can be found on the Quarry mine floor in front of a grim reaper statue. This scythe gives a 75% chance to get a piece of hay from a cleared grass tile.
Be careful not to clear all the grass in your field or it will not grow back. By leaving a few evenly scattered patches around your field, the grass will regrow over a few days so you can harvest more hay. If you do accidentally clear all the grass in your field or you want to start a second field elsewhere on your farm, grass starter can be purchased at the General Store or at JojaMart.
Harvesting Wheat
Another way to acquire hay in Stardew Valley is to grow wheat. Harvest wheat by using a scythe to cut it and wheat will not only be placed in your inventory but there is a 40% chance a piece of hay gets added as well. It should be noted that a silo is not necessary for this method because the wheat is placed directly into your inventory. The hay can be placed into feeding troughs or it can be added to the silo by clicking on the silo while having the hay in hand.
Purchasing Hay From Marnie
The final method for how to get hay in Stardew Valley is to purchase it. Marnie sells hay at her ranch for 50g a piece. This is a little steep but if you are in a pinch and can’t cut any grass or harvest wheat this is an option. You wouldn’t want your animals to go hungry, would you? You can add the hay you purchase from Marnie’s to your silo by clicking on the silo with the hay in hand.
How to Feed Hay to Your Animals
Now that you know how to get hay in Stardew Valley, let’s make sure you know how to use it. Feeding your animals is very easy to do. Simply place pieces of hay in the feeding trough for them each morning to keep them happy. To retrieve hay stored in your silo you can take it from the hay hopper located next to the feeding troughs in your barn or coop. The hay can also be taken from here and stored in chests to make room in your silo for more hay. Make sure to stock up for winter!
Check out the Stardew Wiki Page for more information about hay.