Are you looking for a farm toy for a gift? This list is for you! Farm themed toys like toy tractors, a wooden barn, toy farm animals, and farm-theme legos, are open-ended toys that invite imaginative play. Here are our personal favorite farm toys and farm books that we play with at our house.
Talking about farm toys isn’t a normal topic for us. However, when a city girl marries a country boy and they have a baby, the city girl learns a lot about farm toys! This toy knowledge becomes very important near holidays when it’s time to buy and give birthday and Christmas gifts.
Mr. Rogers once said that “Play is the work of childhood” and toys help foster that play. We couldn’t agree more.
Toys are important to any child, and we appreciate all open-ended toys, like legos and blocks. They encourage hands-on learning and improve gross motor skills. However, studies show that children’s imaginative abilities are most effectively employed when they’re given freedom within a specific topic or scenario. Realistic roleplay modeled after real-life “grown-up” tasks is essential for developing critical thinking skills.
Farm toys fit this to a “T”, especially if a child has exposure to a local farm. Through play, a child can recreate what they see in their everyday world with their own world of farming toys. For example, if they recently built a fence on the farm, they can build a fence with their toy farm.
To illustrate it even further, when Matt grew up and bought his first truck and trailer, he wanted a black truck and black cattle trailer. Why? Because that’s what he had in his toy farm setup as a child.
Farm toys begin to mold country kids ideas for their future farm.
Here’s a list of some of our favorite farm toys that we own and play with regularly. We’re sure there are plenty of other great toys out there, but we’ve also stumbled on some farm toys by major toy brands that we would never recommend. Many of the higher-quality farm toys are by brands you won’t find in common retail stores, but you will find in farm retail stores like Tractor Supply and Orscheln’s, as well as Amazon.
Shopping tip: How to understand the scale when choosing a farm toy replica
High-quality farm toys are almost always a replica of an actual truck, tractor, or animal. The size is referred to as the “scale” of the toy, and it’s expressed in a fraction or ratio. For example,a toy tractor is 1/20 the size of the actual tractor. Every inch of the replica is 20 inches on the real tractor. Because it’s a scale, the larger the denominator (bottom number of the fraction), the smaller the toy. A 1/87 toy is much smaller than a 1/16 scale toy.
We like and own farm toys of all sizes. If you’re just starting out, you should consider purchasing toys that are the same scale so that your toy livestock aren’t bigger than your toy tractors and barn.Also keep in mind the age group you’re purchasing for — little hands need larger farm animal figurines, and older kids may may like smaller scale toys that have more details.
Here are some of our favorite farm toys for kids of all ages:
Toy Barn
We have had this barn by Terra By Battat for over 3 years, and it is the most amazing wooden barn toy we’ve ever owned (and we’ve owned lots of them). It is a high quality wooden barn that includes a hayloft pulley tray, ladder, hay bales and more. We’ve spent hours playing with this wooden toy barn, and can’t say enough good things about it.
Farm Animals
If you give a child a barn, they need a variety of farm animals and livestock to fill the barn. We like and own toy farm animals of all sizes. One tip is that if you want animals to fit the barn correctly, make sure you purchase farm animal toys that are the correct scale ratio. These animals have years of longevity and are perfect toys for all kinds of play. Kids can use them in sensory bins, art projects, and basically any imaginary play world they dream of.
Many manufacturers make farm animals, but we have always been impressed with the farm animals we’ve purchased from Terra by Battat. The animals are realistic, they will easily stand on their own, and they’re about 4-5 inches long, so they’re ideal for tiny hands.
Horse Stable
If you have a horse lover in your family, toy stables are sure to be a hit. This is the best horse stable we’ve ever found. Our daughter plays with this for hours on end. It includes everything you could ever need for pretend play, such as a horse and foal, saddle, bridle, blanket, brush, harness and more.
Although the horses in this set are nice, we wish there were more. We purchased this set of 6 toy horses from Terra by Battat and we’re so glad we did. Prior to finding these, we looked at 10+ toy manufacturer’s toy horses and these were the best by far. If you have a horse lover, get this horse stable and these horses!
Farm Games
There are lots of board games that teach kids about animals, but one of our favorites is the Smart Farmer game. It teaches kids (and adults) about problem solving and planning as they try and keep the pigs, horse, sheep and cow in separate fields. It’s for ages 4+ and has multiple skill levels: Starter, Junior, Expert, and Master. In addition to Smart Farmer, some of our other family favorites that have a farm or animal theme are Guess in 10, Sequence for Kids, and Outfoxed.
Truck and Trailer
If you give a child a barn and farm animals, they’re going to need farm equipment. For starters, we recommend a truck and trailer to haul their animals and hay. This truck and trailer are also 1:20 scale, so the animals above fit in it perfectly. We know that some families have loyalties to a specific brand of truck, trailers and tractor. There are dozens of toy trucks to choose from, so pick your favorite brand.
Toy Tractors
A good toy tractor is a great open-ended investment: something to build with, imagine with, and interact with. Tractor toys come in all colors — from iconic green to pink. They also come in all sizes from pedal tractor ride-on toys to smaller sizes. Whichever you pick, it will be a big hit and a great toy for years to come.
Toy Fence
All modern day farms have fence, and toy farms do too. Fencing makes it possible for animals to have an outdoor pasture and corral. Toy fencing has to be put together one piece at a time, so it is great for fine motor skills, improving concentration, and creativity.
Farm LEGO sets
What toy list would be complete without mentioning LEGO? As you would expect, there are some great farm-themed LEGO sets for kids of all ages.
Farm Books
We love books! They’re a great way to teach kids about agriculture and farming. We have a full list of some of the best farm books for kids of all ages.
Farm Toys for Younger Children:
Old MacDonald Had a Farm Tractor
Our daughter was given this fun farm toys when she was one-year-old. She played with it non-stop for weeks, and continued to play with it until she was about four. It’s the perfect gift for a younger toddler. It plays the familiar “Old MacDonald” song when moving forward. It comes with a little farmer and five animals that all make realistic animal sounds when placed in their proper seat.
Feed & Groom Horse Set
Invite imaginary play with this fun feed and care horse set. It makes a great gift for ages 3-7.
Farm Puzzles
Farm puzzles are a wonderful addition to any household. We are big fans of puzzles with chunky wood pieces because the pieces can stand-up and be used in other play. The puzzle pieces from this puzzle were put in a toy barn on more than one occasion at our house!
Fisher-Price Little People Barn
If you’re looking for an interactive barn for someone 5 or under, this is a great one. It comes with a little farmer and animals. One of the many reasons we like it is because there aren’t many bells-and-whistles on it, so it lets the child do their own imaginative play.
Poke-A-Dot Book
I am a little obsessed with these books! Read and pop each dot as you count the farm animals on each page.
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We're Matt & Jessica, fifth-generation cattle farmers & the owners of Clover Meadows Beef. Good food starts with knowing where it comes from. On our blog, you'll find easy beef recipes, cooking tips, stories of how we raise our cattle, and how to buy farm-fresh beef locally. Our goal is to make cooking beef easy so you feel confident cooking any cut of beef in your home kitchen.