A silo stores your harvested crops so you don't lose them when winter arrives
A silo in Stardew Valley is a building that automatically collects grass and hay when you cut it with a scythe, then stores that hay for you to use as animal feed during winter. Without a silo, hay you cut disappears after you leave the area. You build one on your farm by gathering materials and paying gold to Robin, the carpenter in town.
The silo becomes useful once you have animals — chickens, cows, goats, or sheep — because those animals need hay to eat when snow covers the ground and grass stops growing. If you don't have a silo and don't buy hay from Marnie's ranch, your animals will starve and die.
Key Takeaways
- A silo costs 1,000 gold and requires 100 wood, 10 gold bars, and 5 copper bars to build through Robin the carpenter.
- You can build a silo as early as spring of year one if you gather materials quickly, but most players build one by summer or fall.
- Once built, the silo automatically collects hay when you cut grass with a scythe anywhere on your farm.
- You need a silo before winter arrives if you own animals, because stored hay is the only free way to feed them during the cold months.
- The silo stores up to 240 units of hay, which is enough for most small farms but may not be enough if you have many animals.
Gather the materials Robin needs
Robin requires four things to build your silo: 100 wood, 10 gold bars, 5 copper bars, and 1,000 gold. You likely have some wood already from chopping trees on your farm. Chop more trees with an axe to collect additional wood — each tree gives 12 wood when you chop it down, plus more wood from the stumps left behind.
Gold bars and copper bars come from the mines. Go to the mines on the mountain north of town and break rocks with a pickaxe to find copper ore and gold ore. Copper ore appears in the upper levels (around floors 1 to 40), while gold ore appears deeper (around floors 40 to 80). Once you have ore, take it to Clint the blacksmith in town. He will smelt copper ore into copper bars and gold ore into gold bars for a small fee of 5 gold per bar.
The 1,000 gold is the cash cost. Earn this by selling crops, foraged items, or fish. Spring crops like parsnips and cauliflower sell quickly if you plant them early.
Talk to Robin and place your silo
Once you have all the materials and 1,000 gold, go to Robin's carpentry shop on the mountain. It's the building north and west of your farm. Talk to Robin and select the option to construct a building. Choose "silo" from the list.
Robin will ask you where on your farm you want the silo placed. You can place it anywhere that has an empty 3x3 space — it doesn't need to be near your barn or coop. Many players put it near their storage chest or close to where they keep animals, but location doesn't affect how it works. Once you confirm the spot, Robin will build it overnight, and it will be ready to use the next morning.
Use your silo to collect hay
After the silo is built, cut grass anywhere on your farm using a scythe. The hay automatically goes into the silo instead of disappearing. You don't need to do anything special — just swing the scythe at grass as normal. The silo fills up as you harvest.
To take hay out of the silo and feed your animals, go inside your barn or coop and interact with the hay hopper (a wooden box on the wall). Select how much hay you want to take out. Your animals will eat from the hay in their building automatically each day during winter, so you only need to pull out enough to last the season.
Plan your silo before winter arrives
Winter starts on day 1 of the 28-day winter season in Stardew Valley. Grass stops growing around day 1 of fall, so you have all of fall to cut and store hay. Build your silo by mid-fall at the latest to give yourself time to fill it. If you wait until late fall, you may not harvest enough hay before winter begins.
Calculate roughly how much hay you need: each animal eats one hay per day, and winter lasts 28 days. If you have 5 animals, you need at least 140 hay for the season. The silo holds 240 hay total, so one full silo covers most small farms. If you have many animals, consider building a second silo or buying hay from Marnie during winter.
What to do if you don't have a silo yet
If winter arrives and you haven't built a silo, you can still feed your animals by buying hay from Marnie's ranch. She sells hay for 50 gold per unit, which adds up quickly if you have many animals. This is expensive but keeps your animals alive until you can build a silo in spring.
Alternatively, you can let your animals go hungry for a day or two while you rush to gather silo materials. Animals take damage if they don't eat, but they won't die when ready — you have a few days to get hay to them. This is a risky strategy and not recommended for new players.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I build a silo in winter?
Yes, you can build a silo any time of year, but it's less useful in winter because grass doesn't grow and you can't cut hay. Build it before winter so you have time to fill it with hay during fall.
What if my silo is full?
Once the silo reaches 240 hay, it stops collecting more. Any hay you cut after that disappears. If you need more storage, build a second silo. Robin can build multiple silos on the same farm.
Do I need a silo if I don't have animals?
No. A silo is only useful if you own animals that need to eat during winter. If you only grow crops, you don't need one.
Where is the hay hopper to get hay out?
The hay hopper is inside your barn or coop, on the wall. It looks like a wooden box. Interact with it to pull hay out of the silo and into the building so your animals can eat.
Can I move my silo after it's built?
No, you cannot move a silo once Robin builds it. If you want it in a different location, you have to demolish it (which costs gold) and build a new one. Plan your placement carefully before construction.