Summary

• Stardew Valley lets players choose from two farming professions: Rancher or Tiller.
• Rancher focuses on raising livestock, with bonuses for obtaining and selling animal products.
• Tiller focuses on growing crops, with bonuses for harvesting and selling fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

One of the earliest and most impactful choices players will make in Stardew Valley is the one between Rancher and Tiller. The decision is made as soon as the player reaches level five in farming, and greatly affects their gameplay going forward. Ranchers are more focused on raising animals, while Tillers prefer to grow crops. Either choice grants players some bonuses to their selected profession, making it easier to produce goods and earn profits on items in each category. At level ten, players get to choose a specialization (or subclass) to further focus their farming efforts.

The Rancher-Tiller choice remains intact in Stardew Valley's 1.6 update, but other balance changes have changed how viable each option is. As always, this decision can affect an entire playthrough of Stardew Valley in a variety of ways, so it's important to know what a player is g up for. Here's how the Rancher and Tiller options compare, and why a player should consider choosing one over the other.

When To Choose Rancher In Stardew Valley

Pros & Cons Of The Rancher Profession

The Rancher profession makes Stardew Valley all about raising animals, and its most immediate benefit raises the sale price of all animal products by 20%. That applies to just about anything a player might harvest or process from livestock on their farm: things like milk, eggs, and wool, as well as cheese, mayonnaise, and cloth.

That's a pretty significant price increase - it's twice what the Tiller profession offers at level five, at least by percentage. It also applies to a wide range of products. Individual eggs and bottles of milk don't sell for much to begin with, but wedges of cheese, bolts of cloth, and jars of mayo fetch much higher prices. A large, well-oiled farm can produce a great deal of these daily, which means a pretty significant, reliable cash flow once everything's set up.

It's possible to change professions at any time by visiting the Statue of Uncertainty in the sewers beneath Pelican Town. However, each change costs 10,000g.

However, these things take time. The simple fact is that most players don't start with a barn or a coop, not to mention all the machines required to process things like mayonnaise and cheese - it may take a few seasons before they're affordable. The only way to start with a farm is to choose the Meadowlands Farm map added by the 1.6 update to Stardew Valley. This starts the player with a small coop and a couple of chickens.

As a result, Rancher isn't ideal for most new players, unless they choose the Meadowlands Farm. It's better to start as a Tiller, save up some cash, build a barn and coop, and then switch to Rancher once everything's set up.

At level ten, players can choose a more specialized profession:

• Coopmaster: Decreases the incubation time of eggs, makes it easier to befriend coop animals, and increases the likelihood of high-quality coop products
• Shepherd: Causes sheep to produce wool more quickly, makes it easier to befriend barn animals, and increases the likelihood of high-quality barn products

These are both useful if a player wants to focus on a particular type of animal, but these benefits are underwhelming compared to the Tiller's level ten specializations. Still, the more significant upgrades provided by the initial choice of Rancher should carry them through.

When To Choose Tiller In Stardew Valley

Pros & Cons Of The Tiller Profession

By contrast, Stardew Valley's Tiller profession is all about growing crops. Taking on this profession at level five provides a 10% bonus to sale prices of all crops. However, this only applies to fruit, vegetables, and flowers grown on the player's farm - foraged produce doesn't count. It's not as large a price increase as the Rancher's, but players tend to deliver larger stacks of crops than they do animal products. Even though each individual item won't see a significant bonus, 10% on every single fruit, veggie, or flower adds up quickly.

Tiller works well with all farm maps, but the ideal choice is the Standard Farm, which has the largest tillable area and relatively few trees to clear. But even though some maps make certain aspects of farming easier, growing crops is always central to Stardew Valley. Tiller also has a much lower barrier to entry: players have all the tools they need to start farming from the very beginning of the game, and buying a few packets of seeds is far cheaper than commissioning a barn.

However, unlike Ranchers, who are able to sell a few of their preferred products every day, Tillers tend to have a few big harvests per season. That means their income won't be as steadily paced. They'll have one or two big paydays every couple of weeks, but will have to save up in between.

At level ten, Tillers can choose from one of two specializations:

• Artisan: Increases sale price of artisan goods (except oil) by 40%
• Agriculturalist: Increases growth rate of all crops by 10%

Of the two, Artisan is the superior choice. 40% is a massive price increase for already-expensive artisan goods. Plus, processed animal goods like cheese, mayonnaise, and cloth also count as Artisan goods. This is an even bigger price increase than anything offered by the Rancher profession, and means Artisans will be raking in the money.

Greater flexibility, efficiency, and profitability mean that Tiller is almost always the best choice of profession in Stardew Valley, unless the player starts with the Meadowlands Farm. It's an easy way to make lots of money in the early game, and sustain profits all the way through the endgame. Still, the choice is ultimately up to the player's preferred way to enjoy Stardew Valley.