Manor Lords beta update adds cow breeding, oats, cheesemongers, and skilled builders

Manor Lords is getting a beta update by the end of July that adds cattle breeding, a new artisan type, oats as a crop, and a reworked construction system. Developer Slavic Magic outlined the changes in a Steam post.

On the livestock side, players can now breed and import cows, with pasture workers — previously called sheep farm workers — collecting milk from the animals. Cows can also be slaughtered for beef. Pastures now require construction plans and have costs that scale with size. The new cheesemonger artisan processes dairy into cheese. A new animal feed item has also been added, and players will need to keep livestock fed through winter or watch them starve.

Oats arrive as a new crop, usable as food for villagers or converted into that animal feed. Seasonal assignment settings are now available in every workplace, letting players adjust worker rosters per season rather than manually shuffling them around. A new map called Wide Valley also ships with the update, featuring two rivers.

The construction system gets a meaningful overhaul too. Structures are now split into basic and advanced categories. Advanced buildings require skilled builders hired from a new construction yard, while using skilled builders on basic structures speeds up the work. Construction sites will look busier as a result — advanced builds take longer and show workers hauling water from nearby wells, with visible scaffolding and cranes appearing at different build stages. The update has no exact release date beyond "by the end of July."