Soybean

Soybean is an Iron Teeth-exclusive crop that matures in 8 days and yields 2 Soybeans per harvest. Soybeans are a key ingredient in one of the more complex food production chains available to the Iron Teeth faction: they are processed at a Fermenter alongside Canola Oil to produce Fermented Soybeans, a high-quality food item. This dual-input recipe means that Soybean farming must be coordinated with Canola cultivation and Oil Press operations, creating an interconnected agricultural system that rewards careful logistics planning with excellent nutritional output.

The Soybean production chain involves multiple steps and buildings. First, Soybeans are grown in Farmhouses with a standard 0.2-hour planting time per tile. Once harvested, they are sent to a Fermenter along with Canola Oil (produced by processing Canola Seeds in an Oil Press). The Fermenter combines both inputs to create Fermented Soybeans, a premium food product. This chain requires three crop-related buildings (Farmhouse for Soybeans, Farmhouse for Canola, and Oil Press) plus the Fermenter itself, making it one of the more infrastructure-heavy food systems in the Iron Teeth lineup. The 8-day growth cycle means farms need to be reasonably large to ensure continuous supply. Beehives can reduce growth time by 30%, cutting it to approximately 5.6 days.

Strategically, Soybeans represent a mid-to-late-game food investment for Iron Teeth players. The requirement for both Gears (to build the Oil Press) and a steady Canola Oil supply means that Soybean production cannot begin until the settlement has achieved a certain level of industrial development. Players should establish Cassava-based food production first (which only needs a Fermenter and Power), then add the Soybean-Canola pipeline once Oil Press infrastructure is in place. The benefit of Fermented Soybeans is that they provide food variety, which contributes to beaver wellbeing through nutrition tier satisfaction. On maps with ample farmland, running parallel Soybean and Canola farms alongside Cassava fields creates a robust food economy. Compared to the simpler Cassava chain (10 Fermented Cassava from 1 Cassava), Soybeans require more investment but contribute to the food diversity that keeps beaver wellbeing high. Iron Teeth players aiming for large, prosperous settlements should view Soybean farming as an essential component of their agricultural portfolio.