Next Stop: South America
"Farming Simulator 25" is well-known as a farming simulator that even real-life farmers can’t resist. As someone who actually grows rice in real life, I took on the challenge of rice farming in the game’s previous installment. As a farmer, it’s quite enjoyable to operate familiar farm machinery within the game.
Now, a new DLC for the game—*Beans & Alpacas Expansion*—has been released, set in “Katuai,” a fictional rural village reminiscent of Brazil in South America.It was released on October 27, 2026. While I’ve been growing rice in paddy fields in the game so far, this time I’ve decided to try my hand at being a coffee farmer.
Gemspa previously published a play report where I drew on my real-life experience as a rice farmer to try my hand at rice farming in this game. Whereas last time I tried out tasks I actually perform in real life, this time I’m tackling a crop outside my area of expertise—even though it’s still farming. Just how much will my rice-farming experience actually help me?
In this DLC, in addition to growing and harvesting coffee and bananas, you can now enjoy raising alpacas. You can grow and harvest the coffee you usually just drink, and even process it into finished products.
In this article, I’ll focus on coffee cultivation while also introducing the alpaca farming I started at the same time. Relying on the controls I learned from my previous rice farming experience and my knowledge of real-world agriculture, I’ll first try my hand at the full range of tasks. That said, just because I’m a rice farmer doesn’t mean I can grow anything. I was reminded of that fact all too clearly this time around…
Note: For the purpose of writing this article, we received a game code from GIANTS Software.
Coffee: A Battle Against Disease
First, let’s start by planting coffee trees. The trees bear fruit called “coffee cherries,” and the seeds inside them become the familiar coffee beans.
The cultivation system in this game is similar to that already implemented for olives and other crops. Unlike rice farming—where you plant seedlings with a rice transplanter and harvest by cutting the plants from the field—here you’ll be continuously managing the rows of trees on your farm.
When creating a plantation, you can designate an area and place the trees directly; there’s no need to till the soil in advance with a plow or similar tool. I struggled with preparing the rice paddies in the previous rice-farming segment, but thanks to that experience, I was able to get started smoothly this time. The minimal preparation required before starting work is a welcome feature for a crop I’m handling for the first time.
However, being easy to plant and being easy to grow are two different things. With this coffee cultivation, it’s not as simple as just lining up the trees and then waiting for the harvest.
I check the work schedule on the in-game calendar. While waiting for the crops to grow, I decided to also proceed with raising the newly added alpacas.
This time, I’m not worrying about finances; my plan is to test the entire process—from planting to harvesting, processing, and raising animals. Before I try to run a profitable operation, I’ll first figure out what machinery is needed and what steps I need to take to reach harvest.
I’ll check the coffee category to see what farm equipment is needed and start gathering the tools for now. Since the machinery changes depending on the crop, shopping for it is one of the series’ joys. Moving away from the rice transplanters and combine harvesters I’m used to as a rice farmer, I’ll now be using equipment specifically for coffee.
As always, I have absolutely no idea how to operate any machinery other than a tractor, so I’ll learn by watching videos of actual coffee farmers on YouTube. The fact that real-life harvesting scenes double as tutorials is one of the game’s greatest charms—and a testament to its realism—and can be seen as a mark of its high level of authenticity.
As the coffee flowers bloom and the plants grow, the real work of managing the farm begins. Unlike crops that must be replanted after a single harvest, coffee can be harvested repeatedly from the same tree. Being able to continue using the farm you’ve worked so hard to build is certainly part of its appeal.
On the other hand, you’ll need to watch out for “rust disease.” The game realistically depicts this fungal disease that affects the leaves, requiring control through fungicides. Don’t let the ease of planting lull you into a false sense of security—you must keep a close eye on the plants as they grow. A farmer’s work doesn’t stop on days when you’re operating the harvester.
Alongside applying fertilizer, you’ll also need to spray fungicide. The unique sprayer can treat two rows at once, so you simply need to drive it along the rows of your farm—the task itself is relatively straightforward. That said, even simple tasks are meaningless if they aren’t performed at the right time.
When it comes to pesticides, the discussion often boils down to whether or not to use them. But from a farmer’s perspective, it’s a trade-off—how to minimize damage from diseases, pests, and weeds—and since it directly affects whether the crops we’ve grown can be harvested safely, it’s something we simply cannot ignore.
Pesticide-free crops command a higher price, and if possible, I’d love to grow them entirely without pesticides… but whether it’s financially viable—taking into account all the extra effort and precautions required—is another matter entirely. If asked whether I could do it, I’d answer, “It’s not impossible,” but when I ask myself, “Do I have enough time to devote to that?” the answer is obvious.
At least in my own life, the benefits of using pesticides are significant, so I don’t feel inclined to casually switch to pesticide-free farming. Of course, this varies depending on the crop, cultivation method, and market. Even though I’m just buying and spraying fungicide in the game, I can’t help but think about real-life farming. This is probably unique to this game, which is centered on farm work.
Anyway, here’s the coffee I harvested after all that. It’s been spectacularly struck by “rust disease.” Even though I knew it was necessary, I’d slacked off on fungicide applications for about two months—and now I’m paying the price in the form of this disease. After talking up the benefits of pesticides, how can I justify neglecting pest control myself…?
Even with the disease, I can still harvest the beans, but it has a major impact on the yield. I certainly can’t say, “It’s okay because I can still harvest them.” Even though the time spent waiting for them to grow is the same, the fact that differences in management show up in the final yield—even in a game—is pretty harsh.
Expanding into Processing After Harvest
You can sell the harvested coffee cherries as-is. However, in this DLC, you can take them through processing to increase their value as a product. The production chain is fully laid out—from bagging the beans at the processing facility to further processing and serving them as beverages at a coffee shop.
Do you just sell what you harvest from the fields and call it a day, or do you invest in equipment to handle processing yourself? The fact that new goals emerge even after harvest—meaning the experience isn’t confined solely to the coffee farm—is what makes this so interesting.
That said, a high selling price doesn’t automatically translate to profit. In addition to the cost of purchasing and operating facilities, there’s also the effort involved in transporting raw materials and finished goods. You’ll want to decide how much equipment to have relative to the farm’s size—and how much processing to handle yourself—while keeping an eye on your income and expenses. In this playthrough, I tested the processing workflow, but if you’re running a full-scale farm, these factors will likely be the next items to consider.
Raising Alpacas in Between Coffee Work
The alpacas I’ve been raising alongside managing the coffee farm can be sheared once they’ve grown. A key feature of this DLC is that you can not only sell the wool but also process it into products like stuffed animals. Just as processing coffee into beverages creates work, raising these animals opens up another line of work once they’re grown.
It’s also possible to breed them and sell the live animals. Since this generates farm income in a different way than harvesting crops, it’s something I’d like to incorporate effectively as a task to tackle while waiting for the coffee to grow.Fields, animals, processing facilities… naturally, the more you take on, the more there is to manage. Though it might not be very convincing coming from me—since I’ve even slacked off on pest control for my coffee plants…
By the way, when I was around five years old, my family raised and sold dairy cows at our home farm. While raising alpacas is certainly different from raising dairy cows, seeing animals being raised on a farm brings back some memories of those days. Though, to be honest, the first thing that comes to mind is, “Man, the backyard sure stank back then.”
It’s not just about growing crops; you can also raise animals and sell or process what you harvest. Being able to choose what kind of work to do on your own farm is one of the great things about this series. This time, I started raising alpacas on the side while growing coffee, but building a farm centered around them seems like it would be a whole different way to play.
Even as a Rice Farmer, I’m a Newbie at Coffee Farming
In my previous rice-farming session, one of my biggest joys was seeing just how well the game could recreate the tasks I knew from real life. On the other hand, this coffee farming experience is about learning new things—even though it’s still agriculture. While the techniques and mindset I picked up from rice farming are helpful, changing crops means the tools you need and the tasks you have to keep an eye on also change.
Planting may be straightforward, but forgetting to apply pest control along the way will affect your yield. Even after the harvest is complete, you’ll have to decide whether to sell the beans as-is or process them before selling. It’s a real highlight of this expansion DLC that simply adding a single crop can change the farm’s work and goals this much. If I combine coffee cultivation with raising alpacas, there are still plenty of things I want to try next.
In real life, replacing farm equipment or switching crops isn’t that easy. In that regard, games let you try your hand at farming outside your area of expertise without worrying about the financial burden or the risk of failure. Whether you’re a series veteran looking for a different kind of farm experience or someone who wants to try farming for the first time through coffee or alpacas, Katua’i should be a strong candidate for your next farm.
This game lets you enjoy farming in ways you can’t easily do in real life—just don’t forget to check that you’ve finished all the tedious tasks before fast-forwarding time to look forward to the harvest.
Alpacas await you in South America.
Title: Farming Simulator 25: Beans & Alpacas Expansion
Supported Platforms: PC (Steam/Epic Games Store)/PS5/Xbox X|S
Platform used for this article: PC (Steam)
Release Date: October 27, 2026 (Steam version)
Author’s Playtime at Time of Writing: 33 hours (base game) + 6 hours (DLC)
Price: 3,948 yen
