Ultimate Guide to Cows & Milk (SoS: FoMT)

An adult cow outside of the barn in SoS:FoMT

Cows are a staple barn animal that can be bought from Mugi’s ranch for 5,000 G. If taken care of properly, they will give you Milk every day – one of the most profitable animal products in the game.

This guide will tell you all you need to know about taking care of cows, and the things you can do with Milk in Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town.

Note: we’ll be focused just on regular cows here, but there are 3 types of specialty cows that you might be interested in as well: coffee cows, fruit cows, and strawberry cows.

The character description of a regular calf. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The character description of a regular calf.

How To Get a Cow

There are actually two methods to obtaining your very own cow: buying one or breeding.

All barn animals and their breeding kits will be available at Yodel Ranch. You can buy them from Mugi here, or choose to breed one by yourself on the farm.

There are different prerequisites and benefits for both ways, though, so choose which method works for you.

1. Purchasing from Yodel Ranch

The only way you can get your first cow is by buying it at Yodel Ranch.

Yodel Ranch is located at the lower right portion of Mineral Town, easily accessible from any of the paths. Mugi is available at the shop from 10 AM to 3 PM, except for Mondays and holidays.

Map of Mineral Town with directions to Yodel Ranch. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
Map of Mineral Town with directions to Yodel Ranch.

Upon entering, you’ll see the owner Mugi at the counter.

Interact with him to open the shop’s menu and select the cow you want to purchase.

Mugi greets the farmer as they enter Yodel Ranch. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
Mugi greets the farmer as they enter Yodel Ranch.

Aside from the money needed to buy the cow, you don’t need to accomplish anything else in the game to unlock access to cows.

The basic barn can hold a total of 8 animals, but you can buy a barn upgrade from Gotts to house up to 16.

Take note that you’ll need the following before you can buy the cow:

  • 5,000 G
  • Available space for a new animal in the barn
The shop menu at Yodel Ranch with the regular calf selected. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The shop menu at Yodel Ranch with the regular calf selected.

And once you’ve bought your new calf, you’ll need these things to take care of it properly:

The Brush and Milker can be bought from Saibara’s Forge at the start of the game.

Fodder can be purchased from Mugi’s shop, or harvested from wild grass on your farm.

The farmer stands beside a calf in the barn. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer stands beside a calf in the barn.

2. Breeding Cows

Mugi sells Cow Breeding Kits at Yodel Ranch for 3,000 G.

This is much cheaper compared to buying a new calf entirely. It also comes with a bunch of benefits you wouldn’t be able to get if you just kept directly buying new animals.

The only requirement for this is that you need to have an adult cow living in your barn so you can use the Kit.

To use the Cow Breeding Kit, simply equip it as a tool and select any adult cow.

The farmer uses a Breeding Kit on an adult cow. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer uses a Breeding Kit on an adult cow.

Remember that you should only use it on the same type of cow that you want to breed.

Regular cows will only give birth to regular calves, strawberry cows will only give birth to strawberry calves, and so on.

The following conditions should be met for the breeding to be successful:

  • There is available space in the barn for another animal
  • The cow you’re breeding has fully matured (can produce milk)

The main purpose for breeding cows instead of buying them is to increase their maximum heart level.

Cows born directly on your farm are more inclined to like you!

Cow Heart Levels

Interface of the Animals relationship tab. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
Interface of the Animals relationship tab.

Cows that are bought from Yodel Ranch can only reach a maximum of 5 hearts.

This heart level determines the quality of the products you can get from your cow.

Regular Milk Quality Guide
Size/Quality Heart Level
S (Small) Milk 0-3 hearts
M (Medium) Milk 4-7 hearts
L (Large) Milk 8-10 hearts
G (Gold) Milk
P (Platinum) Milk
X Milk

For each generation of animals bred on your farm, the maximum heart level of the calf increases by one.

You can actually continue the cycle of breeding until you get cows that max out at 10 hearts.

Taking Care of your Cows

Once you bring your new calf home from Mugi’s ranch, it won’t be ready to give you milk yet.

You still have to raise them for 9-14 days until they are fully mature.

If you don’t raise them properly, they won’t be able to give you milk or other animal products.

  • If you leave your calf alone, it will mature into a fully grown cow after 14 days.
  • However you can also feed them daily and give them attention regularly. If you do this consistently, the calf can mature in as early as 9 days.
The farmer stands next to a calf and an adult cow in the barn. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer stands next to a calf and an adult cow in the barn.

Your cow will only eat Fodder, which you can harvest from the wild grass growing on your farm.

Simply equip the sickle in the tools menu, and use it on the grass.

The farmer harvests Fodder from wild grass with a golden sickle. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer harvests Fodder from wild grass with a golden sickle.

If you run out of grass, you can buy some fodder from Mugi at 20 G each. Jeff also offers grass seeds at the General Store for 500 G if you’d prefer to grow your own.

To feed them, place enough fodder in the trough to feed all the animals you have in the barn.

The farmer places Fodder in the barn’s trough. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer places Fodder in the barn’s trough.

Each cow will only need one bundle per day.

If you give them too much food, it will just disappear the next day and waste the fodder.

There are also things you can do daily to steadily increase your friendship levels with your cow. Performing any of the following tasks will earn you +1 FP for each action:

1. Talking to your Cows

The farmer talks to the calf. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer talks to the calf.

Talking to your cow once every day is actually a pretty effective way to earn their affection.

While you’re feeding your cows, take the time to interact with each one to strengthen your relationship.

2. Brushing

The farmer holds up a brush while standing next to the calf. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer holds up a brush while standing next to the calf.

The brush can be bought from Saibara at the Forge for 800 G.

Equip the Brush tool and interact with your cow to groom them for some extra love points.

3. Hand feeding

The farmer hand feeds a calf with Fodder. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer hand feeds a calf with Fodder.

You can feed your cow in multiple ways, but hand feeding is the best for boosting friendship.

It’s much more personal than letting your cow graze outside or just dropping some Fodder in the troughs.

4. Grazing outside

The farmer stands outside the barn with several cows. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer stands outside the barn with several cows.

If you have some spare grass growing on your farm, you can take the cows outside and let them graze during sunny days.

To open the barn and let them outside, ring the bell located on the left side of the barn door.

The farmer rings the barn bell. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer rings the barn bell.

The cows will head out of the barn and lounge around the farm while you work.

At 8 PM, the bell automatically rings again and the cows will make their way back inside on their own.

What To Do With Milk

After 9-14 days, you’ll finally have an adult cow on your farm.

And to harvest their Milk, you’ll need to buy the Milker.

This can be bought from Saibara at the Forge along with the Brush. It costs 3,000 G and can only be purchased once.

The farmer equips the milker next to a cow. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer equips the milker next to a cow.

Selling Milk

The quality of the milk is dependent on the cow’s heart level. This is why taking care of your cow is important, because higher friendship means a higher selling price.

You can also unlock better prices by completing certain in-game events, like the Moo Moo Festival.

The farmer holds a jug of X Milk. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer holds a jug of X Milk.
Milk Selling Guide
Milk Requirements Sell Price
S (Small) Milk
  • 0-3 hearts with any mature cow
100 G
M (Medium) Milk
  • 4-7 hearts with any mature cow
220 G
L (Large) Milk
  • 8-10 hearts with any mature cow
360 G
Gold (G) Milk
  • 8-10 hearts with any mature cow
  • The farmer has previously won the Moo-Moo Festival
500 G
Platinum (P) Milk
  • 8-10 hearts with any mature cow
  • The farmer has previously won the Moo-Moo Festival
  • The cow has spent a total of 1,000 hours outside
600 G
X Milk
  • There is a 1 in 255 chance that a cow producing (P) Milk will produce X Milk
800 G

Note: The prices listed above are for the Normal game mode. If you’ve chosen to play in Simple mode, they’ll sell for a bit more (+20%) gold.

Milk Products

Milk from regular cows can be processed into Cheese or Butter.

These are both created using Maker Machines.

To unlock the Maker Machines, you’ll need to upgrade your barn to a bigger size first. And to upgrade the barn, just head over to Gotts’ Workshop south of Mineral Town with the following materials:

  • 6,800 G
  • 400 Lumber
  • 250 Stone
Map of Mineral Town with directions to Gotts’ Workshop. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
Map of Mineral Town with directions to Gotts’ Workshop.

After you upgrade the size of your barn, you’ll receive a letter in the mail from Saibara telling you that his Maker Machines are finally available for purchase.

Each Machine will sell for 20,000 G and one piece of Adamantite.

Shop description of the Cheese Maker. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
Shop description of the Cheese Maker.

You can only buy one Maker Machine at a time, and it will be installed in your barn one day after the purchase.

The farmer stands in front of the Maker Machines in the barn. / Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
The farmer stands in front of the Maker Machines in the barn.

The Cheese Maker turns milk into cheese, while the Butter Maker turns milk into butter.

You can start adding stacks of Milk (up to 9 at a time) into either Maker Machine to process them into different animal products.

The Cheese will sell at different prices depending on the quality of Milk used.

Cheese Sell Price
Cheese Milk Quality Price
S Cheese S Milk 250 G
M Cheese M Milk 380 G
L Cheese L Milk 540 G
G Cheese G Milk 700 G
P Cheese P Milk 820 G
X Cheese X Milk 1500 G

The selling price of Butter isn’t affected by the quality of the milk that you put in. Even if you process P or X Milk in the Butter Maker, you’ll still get regular Butter, which only sells for 150 G.

Milk Recipes

SCROLL
Dish Ingredients Equipment needed
Fall Sun X Egg, X Mayonnaise, X Milk, X Cheese, X Wool, X Yarn None
Almond Tofu Milk Seasoning Set, Pot
Bagna Cauda Milk, Mayonnaise, Oil, Turnip, Mushroom, Green Pepper Mixer
Baumkuchen Egg, Milk, Wheat Flour, Butter Seasoning Set, Oven, Whisk
Butter Milk Mixer
Carbonara Wheat Flour, Onion, Oil, Milk, Cheese Pot, Knife
Cheese Risotto Onigiri, Onion, Carrot, Cheese, Milk, Oil Seasoning Set, Frying Pan
Cheese Souffle Milk, Egg, Cheese, Wheat Flour Seasoning Set, Oven, Rolling Pin
Cheesecake Cheese, Egg, Milk Pot, Whisk, Oven
Dorayaki Wheat Flour, Adzuki Beans, Egg, Milk, Honey Pot, Seasoning Set, Frying Pan
Fruit Smoothie Milk, Fruit Juice Mixer
Ice Cream Egg, Milk Whisk, Pot, Seasoning Set
Mashed Potatoes Potato, Butter, Milk, Mayonnaise Seasoning Set, Pot, Rolling Pin, Oven
Mixed Smoothie Milk, Fruit Juice Mixer
Mont Blanc Wheat Flour, Milk, Egg, Chestnut Pot, Whisk, Oven, Seasoning Set
Mushroom Gratin Milk, Cheese, Butter, Mushroom, Matsutake Seasoning Set, Oven
Omelet Rice Egg, Milk, Onigiri, Oil Frying Pan
Pancakes Wheat Flour, Oil, Egg, Milk, Butter, Honey Frying Pan
Pudding Egg, Milk Pot, Oven, Seasoning Set
Pumpkin Potage Pumpkin, Onion, Milk, Butter, Wheat Flour Pot, Mixer, Knife
Quiche Milk, Egg, Mushroom, Onion, Cheese Seasoning Set, Frying Pan
Stew Wheat Flour, Milk Pot, Seasoning Set
Strawberry Cake Strawberries, Egg, Milk, Butter Pot, Whisk, Oven, Seasoning Set
Strawberry Milk Milk, Strawberries Mixer

Gifting Milk

SCROLL
Villager Birthday Type of Gift Friendship/Love Points Earned
Marriage Candidates
Doctor Autumn 19th Favorite +9 FP, +800 LP
Elly Spring 16th Loved +9 FP, +500 LP
Harvest Goddess Spring 8th Liked +3 FP, +300 LP
Popuri Summer 3rd
Cliff Summer 6th
Ran Summer 17th
Kai Summer 22nd
Brandon Autumn 7th
Jennifer Winter 2nd
Villagers
Lillia Spring 19th Loved +9 FP
Manna Autumn 11th
Carter Autumn 20th
Anna Autumn 23rd
Dudley Winter 11th
Ellen Winter 13th
Saibara Spring 11th Liked +3 FP
Mugi Spring 17th
Sasha Spring 30th
Thomas Summer 25th
Gotts Autumn 2nd
Yu Autumn 5th
Mei Winter 26th
Jeff Winter 29th
Lou
Van
Nature Sprites
Plum Spring 4th Loved +9 FP
Sunny Autumn 10th
Blueberry Spring 15th Liked +3 FP
Aqua Spring 26th
Cherry Autumn 14th
Pumpkin Winter 22nd

Kal S.

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Kal S. is a part-time med student and full-time nerd. Connect with them over all things fantasy, science fiction, and art!

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