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Getting Started
When you load a career with the mod active, every field starts with slightly depleted soil values - intentionally below optimal to match the base game's "needs fertilizing" starting state:
| Nutrient | Starting value | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | 50 | 0–100 |
| Phosphorus (P) | 33 | 0–100 |
| Potassium (K) | 38 | 0–100 |
| Organic Matter | 3.5 | 0–10 |
| pH | 6.0 | 5.0–7.5 |
Fields you have already saved in a previous session load their stored values instead of these defaults.
The soil HUD is on by default. To toggle it with a key, bind Toggle Soil HUD in Options → Controls → Mods (SF actions ship unbound so they never clash with other mods). The overlay shows N, P, K, pH, and OM for the field you are standing in or driving through. See HUD Guide for a full breakdown.
To get a farm-wide overview, open the in-game menu (ESC) and select the Soil & Fertilizer tab in the tab bar. The page has two tabs:
| Tab | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Farm Overview | Full field list, click any row for a detailed per-field breakdown |
| Treatment Plan | Fields sorted by urgency (worst first) with the primary deficiency identified |
You can switch between All Fields and Owned Fields and tap any row to open the detailed per-field breakdown.
The Soil Map overlay lives in the native PDA Map (ESC → Map). Use the sidebar to select and cycle layers (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, pH, etc.).
Apply fertilizer with any standard sprayer or spreader. The mod recognizes all base-game fertilizer types as well as 25+ custom types (liquid nitrogen, MAP, potash, etc.). Each type restores different nutrients - see Fertilizer Types for profiles.
Rules of thumb for your first season:
- Fields showing Poor nitrogen → apply liquid fertilizer or manure
- Fields showing Poor pH (below 5.5) → apply lime
- Fields showing Poor phosphorus → apply MAP or DAP
- Fields showing Poor potassium → apply potash or liquid fertilizer
Each crop removes nutrients at harvest. Heavier crops (potato, sugar beet, soybean) deplete significantly more than light feeders (barley, oats). After harvest, re-check the HUD before the next planting cycle.
The mod ships with three difficulty levels, adjustable in Settings (ESC → Settings → Soil & Fertilizer):
| Level | Depletion multiplier | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | 0.7× | New players, relaxed gameplay |
| Realistic | 1.0× | Standard balanced challenge |
| Hardcore | 1.5× | Intensive soil management focus |
- Soil data saves automatically with your savegame - no manual export required.