To level up Farming fast in Stardew Valley, harvest as many crops as you can every single day, favoring cheap, fast-growing crops and plants that regrow, and care for farm animals by hand, since every pet, milking and coop pickup pays experience too. Level 10 takes 15,000 Farming XP in total, so volume beats value: a field of cheap crops harvested often out-levels a few expensive ones.
Below we explain how Farming XP works, list the best crops for experience in each season, show why a coop is a hidden XP engine, and cover the two books that 1.6 added.
Which Version This Covers
This guide covers Stardew Valley 1.6, the current version on PC, consoles and mobile. Experience numbers come from the community wiki’s 1.6 data. The 1.6 update added two new Farming XP sources: skill books, and a small amount of Farming XP for harvesting crops grown from wild seeds, which the official 1.6 changelog describes as forage crops that now “grant some farming experience”.
How Farming Experience Works
Per the community wiki, you earn Farming XP from four things:
- Harvesting crops. Every harvest pays XP, including each harvest of a regrowing crop. Crops that drop several items at once (Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries) only pay for the first one.
- Animal care. Petting an animal, milking a Cow or Goat, shearing a Sheep, or picking up a product inside a coop pays 5 XP each.
- Books. Reading the Stardew Valley Almanac or the Book Of Stars pays 250 XP.
- Wild seeds. Harvesting a plant grown from seasonal wild seeds pays 3 Farming XP.
Quality does not matter: an iridium Parsnip pays the same XP as a normal one. Per the wiki, the XP a crop pays scales with the logarithm of its sell price, so pricier crops pay only a little more. That is why cheap, fast crops level you quickest per gold spent.
| Level | Total XP needed |
|---|---|
| 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 380 |
| 3 | 770 |
| 4 | 1,300 |
| 5 | 2,150 |
| 6 | 3,300 |
| 7 | 4,800 |
| 8 | 6,900 |
| 9 | 10,000 |
| 10 | 15,000 |
Your level rises the moment you cross a threshold, but the level-up screen, new recipes and profession choice only arrive after you sleep.
The Best Crops for Farming XP Each Season
The last column is our own math from the wiki’s growth times: XP from one tile planted on day 1 and replanted on harvest day, without fertilizer or professions. Seed prices are Pierre’s.
| Season | Crop | XP per harvest | Growth | Seeds | XP per tile, per season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | Parsnip | 8 | 4 days | 20g | 48 |
| Spring | Kale | 17 | 6 days | 70g | 68 |
| Spring | Green Bean | 9 | 10 days, then every 3 | 60g | 54 |
| Summer | Hops | 6 | 11 days, then daily | 60g | 102 |
| Summer | Hot Pepper | 9 | 5 days, then every 3 | 40g | 72 |
| Summer | Radish | 15 | 6 days | 40g | 60 |
| Fall | Bok Choy | 14 | 4 days | 50g | 84 |
| Fall | Grape | 14 | 10 days, then every 3 | 60g | 84 |
| Fall | Cranberries | 14 | 7 days, then every 5 | 240g | 70 |
A few takeaways:
- Spring: Parsnips are the budget pick for day 1 when money is tight, and Kale is the best single-harvest option once you can afford it. Strawberries (18 XP every 4 days after the first 8) are excellent if you plant them early in year 2, since Pierre never stocks the seeds: they sell at the Egg Festival and, since 1.6, the Desert Festival. Our best spring crops guide has the money side.
- Summer: Hops are the standout. They take 11 days to mature and then produce every single day, so a Hops trellis planted on Summer 1 pays XP every morning from day 12 to day 28. Hot Peppers are the cheaper, faster alternative. The best summer crops guide covers the profit picture.
- Fall: Bok Choy on a 4-day cycle and Grape trellises trade blows, so plant both. See our best fall crops guide for pairing them with profit.
Plant in bulk and replant immediately after every harvest. Sprinklers are what make that possible: they free the energy you would spend watering, and that energy goes into tilling and planting more tiles.
Use Animals as a Daily XP Engine
Animals are the most overlooked Farming XP source. Each Chicken pays 5 XP for a pet and 5 XP for picking up its egg, so a full coop of chickens tended by hand pays a steady stream of XP every day, rain or shine, all year including winter. Cows and Goats work the same way with the Milk Pail, and Sheep pay for petting and shearing.
Two catches: an Auto-Grabber collects products for you but, per the wiki, grants no Farming XP for them, so skip it while you are leveling. And collecting Truffles from Pigs pays Foraging XP, not Farming.
The 1.6 Shortcuts: Skill Books
Two books added in 1.6 give an instant boost:
- Stardew Valley Almanac: 250 Farming XP. The Bookseller, who visits town twice a season, sells it for 5,000g to 10,000g, and it can also turn up in Mystery Boxes and other rare drops.
- Book Of Stars: 250 XP in every skill. The Bookseller has it for 15,000g when it appears in the stock, and it is also a possible reward from the Raccoon family’s later requests.
At 250 XP each, a book equals about 31 Parsnip harvests, so buy one if you are flush but do not chase it over seeds.
Tips That Speed Things Up
- Year-round farming: repairing the Greenhouse through the Community Center bundles, and later farming on Ginger Island, lets you keep harvesting in winter.
- Speed-Gro and Agriculturist: anything that shortens growth means more harvests of single-harvest crops, which means more XP.
- Food buffs are not XP: dishes like Farmer’s Lunch temporarily raise your Farming level, which helps crop quality, but the wiki describes them as a temporary level boost, not experience.
- Mastery: once all five skills hit 10, extra XP flows into Mastery, but the wiki notes Farming XP only counts at half rate there, so level your other skills too. Our fishing leveling guide is a good place to start.
- Profit while you level: high-volume crops also feed Kegs and Preserves Jars, which our make money fast guide covers.
For every other topic, see the Stardew Valley hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fastest way to level Farming in Stardew Valley? Harvest large fields of cheap, fast or regrowing crops every day and pet and collect from your animals by hand. Hops in summer and Bok Choy or Grapes in fall are standouts.
Does crop quality affect Farming XP? No. Per the community wiki, a gold or iridium crop pays exactly the same XP as a normal one.
Does the Auto-Grabber give Farming XP? No. Products collected by an Auto-Grabber grant no Farming XP, so collect by hand while leveling.
How much XP do you need for Farming level 10? 15,000 XP in total, the same as every other skill.
Do crops that drop several items give extra XP? Multi-drop crops like Potatoes and Blueberries only pay XP for the first item in each harvest, so the extra drops are profit, not experience.