The old proverb “make hay while the sun shines” seems wholly appropriate throughout playing Going Medieval. Hay is a simple, yet vital resource in Going Medieval especially when you start managing animals and long-term food supplies. Hay is mainly used as fodder and an occasional building material in certain recipes.
- The Escapist recaps
- Harvest tall grass for hay in the early game
- Grow barley to produce hay regularly
- Store your hay properly to avoid decay
- Ask The Escapist
The good news? It’s relatively easy to acquire hay once you know where it comes from. In most cases, you’ll either directly harvest it from wild grass or collect it as a by-product when you grow barley.
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The Escapist recaps
- Hay can be harvested directly from tall grass that grows naturally across the map.
- Barley crops also produce hay when harvested.
- There are no hay seeds; hay is merely a by-product.
- Harvested hay should be stored indoors or underground to slow decay.
Harvest tall grass for hay in the early game
The easiest way to get hay in the super-early stages of your settlement is by harvesting tall grass.
Tall grass naturally appears on many maps and turns yellow or golden when ready to harvest. Once it reaches this stage, you can use the Harvest tool to mark the grass, and your settlers will cut it and collect hay from it.
The harvest tool is available to everyone at the start of a game and requires no research or farming infrastructure. If you’re preparing to keep animals a bit later, it’s worth harvesting a few patches of tall grass and storing the hay safely ahead of time – you’ll need to feed your animals.
Grow barley to produce hay regularly
Once your settlement begins farming, barley becomes the most reliable long-term source of hay.
When you plant and harvest barley crops, the harvest produces:
- barley grain
- hay as a by-product
This means a single barley field can provide both brewing ingredients and animal fodder at the same time (almost like we’re real farmers). As barley is renewable and easy to grow, it’s a far more steady and sustainable way to gather hay.
If you’re planning to keep animals and wish to maintain a steady fodder supply, dedicating a small field to barley is the solution we’d recommend.
Store your hay properly to avoid decay
Hay can decay if it’s left exposed to weather or stored in warm areas. Like most food-related resources in Going Medieval (or real life), it lasts longer when stored in cool, sheltered conditions.
A few practical storage tips:
- Keep hay under a roof to protect it from rain.
- Store it underground or in a cellar to slow decay.
- Use stockpiles with filters so hay doesn’t mix with other resources.
Proper storage becomes especially important once animals depend on hay during the winter months and when wild vegetation is scarce. When there’s not a lot growing, you’ll be glad you’ve stored your hay appropriately, we assure you.
Ask The Escapist
No. Hay is harvested from tall grass or produced when harvesting barley crops.
Hay is mainly used as animal fodder and occasionally as a building or crafting material.
Hay seeds don’t exist. Hay comes from wild tall grass or barley harvests.
In most settlements, yes. Barley farming provides a steady and renewable supply of hay along with grain.
Last Updated On: Mar 17, 2026 4:01 pm CET