Farmville developer Zynga has built into their game several helpful tools for farmers whose farms are starting to get too big for them to effectively farm.  If you’re starting to get tired of clicking each little square of ground multiple times to plant, plow, and harvest, you may need to think about investing in a vehicle or three.  Vehicles allow you to work four times faster than your current speed, giving you more time to enjoy your farm and less time hoeing your row.  Farmers who’ve expanded several times and are hovering around plantation size should definitely consider making this investment.
What Vehicles Are Available
Farmville provides you with a choice between the following vehicles.  With a large farm, you will want one of each type (but not color):

  • Red Tractor
  • Pink Tractor
  • Seeder
  • Harvester
Each of these vehicles will cost you $30,000 in Farm coins, so plan accordingly.  You may want to buy just one to start with—pick the tool that lets you spend as little time as possible doing the thing you like least.


What They Can Do For You
These nifty vehicles that you’ve just purchased can help you plow, seed, or harvest four times faster than ever before!  They affect a 2×2 square of field, so with each click you seed, harvest, or plow 4 squares at once.  Try to make sure that your fields fit this template—in other words, make large square or rectangular fields.  These will be the easiest and most time-efficient to work with.  If you have a farm with a lot of single squares of field scattered across the
Their Shortcomings

These vehicles, excellent as they are, do have one problem that can get annoying (and potentially expensive): They run out of fuel.  Keep an eye on the fuel gauge in the lower left corner of your screen and watch it slowly empty as you use your vehicle.  You have enough fuel to plow 150 squares of field.  After that, you’re running on empty and you have two choices.  You can wait 6.5 hours for your tank to refill completely or you can use Farm cash to buy refills.
3 Farm Cash 1 refill
13 Farm Cash 20 refills
20 Farm Cash 40 refills
28 Farm Cash 60 refills
33 Farm Cash 100 refills
As always, the best deal is buying the most refills—at 33 Farm Cash, you’re only paying .33 Farm Cash per refill.  If you’re going to go this route, you may as well make the big investment and enjoy the best possible return.  If you’re feeling frugal, however, just wait for your tank to refill.  If you have multiple crops going at once, try to plan so that your fuel tank has time to fill up for the next harvest.
The Bottom Line
If you’re in this game for the win, you will need vehicles once you expand your farm a couple times.  It’s up to you how you manage your fuel economy; make sure you always consider your goals for Farmville before making a purchase.  Remember, you don’t have to spend money to get to the top, but sometimes it sure helps!

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