Automating the work

Learn how to automate tasks in Supermarket Simulator using the Hire Worker feature. Maximize efficiency by deploying multiple vehicles and workers for cultivation, seeding, and harvesting.

With your new equipment and farming know-how, you'll be a rich son of a gun in no time. You might want to start expanding your farming operations, but you can't be at many places at once...or can you?

The Hire Worker button (H) can be used many times at once on different vehicles. By hiring Bob and his colleagues, you can automate most tasks on the farm...well, more or less. As I said before, the workers are not too smart, so their use is quite limited, but they can help you a great deal with some clever planning. You don't have to do this of course, and it could get really confusing, but if you feel up to it, and have the cash, you can do it.

First of all, you'll need to buy some additional equipment from the store. Buy at least one new tractor, it doesn't have to be the top model, one or two levels above your starting tractor is fine. Workers never go faster than CC1 when on the field anyway, but the tractor should be strong enough to pull heavier implements. Also buy a new combine and a header, but you'll need the best models from this group. If feel up to it (and have the money to burn), you can buy more tractors, and also, cultivators plows, seeders, combines.

Especially on large fields, one worker might not be enough to do the work in a reasonable time. Now, you can work many fields at once! You'll need some skill in positioning workers and switching vehicles fast. Firt of, attach cultivators to two tractors and take them out to the field (one-by-one). Now, position them as you would, but to opposite ends of the same field. Like this:

e->|.......\ \.........|<- the other edge
d |__...../ /.......__|
g |||....field......|||
e @xx@..../ /......@xx@<- the other tractor
7|HH.....\ \.......HH|
/ |HH_____/ /_______HH|
tractor ^^cultivator

Now, position the two tractors as precisely as you can. Start both of them quickly (start one, jump to the other, and start that one too). You might need to correct their courses at first, it might involve some jumping back and forth between them, but usually after the first row, they can be left alone. The two of them will cultivate the whole field in much less time, and if all goes according to plan, they will meet somewhere in the middle. They are smart enough, so they won't ram each other when they get close, one will allow the other to pass. The work will be done in considerably less time, even if you need to manually correct some mistakes the did. On VERY large fields, you can use even more of them, by positioning some additional tractors around in regular intervals on the field. There will be more micromanaging this way, since they do tend to turn in the wrong direction or hang on an obstacle, but you can use the box trick to avoid that (look in the Hire Workers section).

You can also do this with harvesters, in fact, that's an even better idea, to use more harvesters on large fields. You can start them in an L shape (you can also do that with tractors). Position one on the edge of a field, and position the other one on the perpendicular, opposite edge, to be on the two ends of an L shape.
___________
||X..........|
||...........|
V|...........|
|...........|
|__________X|
<---

Xs are the combines/tractors and the arrows show the direction they are facing. They will do the rows in a rectangular fashion so the workable region gets gradually smaller. If they meet at the end of the field, they are smart enough to let each other pass.

There is an even better trick to save even more time! You need two tractors for this. Start a cultivator worker on a field, give him some headway (so he'll have time to turn around at the edge of the field) and send another tractor with a seeder after him on the same row. The first one cultivates, and the second one coming after him plants the field immediately. Hell, you can even use FOUR tractors, like in the first example above, start the cultivators in opposite edges of the field and send seeders right after them. You'll cultivate and seed a large field in fracking minutes this way, you only need one pass with the sprayer and it's done. But you need perfect precision in positioning the tractors, because the seeder is the same width as the planter, so any deviation from the course is bad. It's a little hard to learn, but worth it.

I tried these methods and they work, but I cant stress this enough: don't put too much faith in the workers, they do tend to mess up from time to time, so if you are worried about that, just use one at a time or do the fields yourself, it's your call.