A silo stores hay automatically when you cut grass, so you don't have to pick it up by hand

A silo is a farm building that catches hay whenever you cut grass with any tool — scythe, sickle, or even your regular pickaxe. Without a silo, cut grass disappears. With one, the hay goes straight into storage where your animals can eat it during winter. You can build your first silo as early as spring of year one, though most players wait until they have animals that need feeding.

The silo is one of the few buildings in Stardew Valley that does something useful on its own, without you having to interact with it. Once it's built and you cut grass anywhere on your farm, the hay automatically fills the silo's storage. When winter arrives and grass stops growing, your animals eat from that stored hay instead of starving.

Key Takeaways

  • You need 100 wood, 10 iron bars, and 5,000 gold to build a silo from Robin at the carpenter's shop.
  • A silo holds up to 240 units of hay, which is enough for about 8 to 10 animals for the entire winter.
  • You must have a silo built before winter, or your animals will eat from your inventory and you'll lose money fast.
  • Cut grass with any tool — scythe, sickle, or pickaxe — and the hay goes into the silo automatically if one is built.
  • You can build multiple silos if you have many animals; each one stores hay separately.

What you need to build a silo

To build a silo, you visit Robin at her carpenter's shop in the mountains (north of the town square, past the bridge). Talk to her and select "Construct Farm Buildings." Choose the silo from the list. The cost is 100 wood, 10 iron bars, and 5,000 gold.

If you don't have those materials yet, you can gather them before you commit. Wood comes from chopping trees with an axe — you get 12 to 20 pieces per tree depending on your tool level. Iron bars are made at a furnace: put 5 iron ore and 1 coal into the furnace, and it produces 1 iron bar. You need 10 bars, so that's 50 iron ore and 10 coal. Iron ore comes from breaking rocks in the mines (floors 40 and below are easiest) or from breaking rocks on your farm with a pickaxe.

Gold is earned by selling crops, fish, or foraged items. If you're short on gold, focus on spring crops like parsnips or cauliflower — they sell for enough to get you close to 5,000 by late spring.

Where to place your silo on the farm

You can place a silo anywhere on your farm that has a clear 3-by-3 space. Robin will ask you where you want it built. Most players put it near their barn or coop so it's straightforward to find, but the location doesn't affect how it works. The silo will function the same whether it's next to your house or in a far corner.

One practical tip: place it somewhere you won't accidentally build over it later. If you plan to expand your farm with more buildings, leave space around the silo so you're not stuck rearranging everything.

How much hay a silo holds and how long it lasts

One silo holds up to 240 units of hay. In winter, each animal eats 1 unit of hay per day. If you have 8 animals, they eat 8 units per day, so 240 units lasts 30 days — exactly one month. Winter in Stardew Valley is 28 days, so one silo is enough for about 8 animals for the entire season.

If you have more than 8 animals, you need more than one silo. Two silos hold 480 hay and feed up to 16 animals. Three silos hold 720 hay and feed up to 24 animals. You can build as many as you want, and each one stores hay separately — the game doesn't combine them into one pool.

If you run out of hay before winter ends, your animals will start eating from your inventory. If you have no hay in your inventory either, they'll go hungry and their mood will drop, which costs you money when you sell their products.

Filling your silo before winter arrives

You fill a silo by cutting grass. Use any tool that cuts grass — the regular scythe (which you start with), the gold or iridium scythe (better tools), or even a pickaxe or axe if you swing them at grass. Every time you cut grass, one unit of hay goes into the silo if it has space.

Start cutting grass in summer if you can. Summer grass grows back quickly, so you can cut the same patch multiple times and build up your hay supply. By the time fall arrives, you should have most of your silo full. In fall, keep cutting until the silo is completely full or until you have enough hay for your animals to survive winter.

If you forget to fill your silo and winter arrives with it empty, you can still buy hay from Marnie at her ranch for 50 gold per unit. It's expensive, but it's better than losing animals or having them go hungry. Plan ahead so you don't have to rely on buying hay.

What happens if you don't have a silo

Without a silo, cut grass disappears when you cut it. You can pick up hay by hand and carry it in your inventory, but your inventory is limited (usually 24 to 36 slots depending on your backpack size). Storing hay in a chest works, but it's slow and tedious.

More importantly, without a silo or stored hay, your animals starve in winter. Each day they don't eat, their mood drops. Low mood animals produce lower-quality products and sell for less money. If an animal's mood gets too low, it can die (though the game gives you warnings first). Losing an animal means losing the money you spent to buy it and the products it would have made.

Building a silo is one of the best early investments on a farm because it solves the winter feeding problem automatically and costs less than buying hay for a season.

Upgrading to a better scythe for faster hay collection

Your starting scythe works fine, but better scythes cut grass faster and cover a wider area. The gold scythe (made at a furnace with 5 gold bars and 5 iron bars) cuts a 3-by-3 area instead of a single tile. The iridium scythe (made with 5 iridium bars and 5 iron bars) cuts a 5-by-5 area.

If you have the materials, upgrading to a gold or iridium scythe makes filling your silo much faster. You can fill a silo in a few days instead of a few weeks. This is especially useful if you have multiple silos or many animals to feed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I move a silo after it's built?

Yes. Talk to Robin and select "Construct Farm Buildings," then choose "Demolish Farm Buildings." Select the silo and she'll tear it down. You get back 50% of the materials (50 wood, 5 iron bars, 2,500 gold). You can then rebuild it somewhere else for the full cost again.

What if my silo is full but I keep cutting grass?

Once the silo is full, cut grass disappears again. You can't overflow a silo or store extra hay in it. If you're cutting grass and your silo is full, stop cutting until winter when your animals start eating and make space.

Do I need a silo if I only have chickens?

A silo is useful for any animal that eats hay — chickens, ducks, cows, goats, sheep, and pigs all eat hay in winter. If you have even 2 or 3 animals, a silo saves you money compared to buying hay from Marnie. It's worth building early.

Can I build a silo in winter?

Yes, you can build a silo any time of year. But it's most useful if you build it before summer or fall so you have time to fill it with grass before winter arrives. Building it in winter means you'll have to buy hay from Marnie while you wait for spring grass to grow.

What's the difference between a silo and a chest for storing hay?

A silo automatically catches hay when you cut grass. A chest doesn't — you have to pick up hay by hand and place it in the chest. A silo also holds 240 units, which is much more than a chest (36 slots). For winter feeding, a silo is faster and more convenient.