Since Coins are the most sought-after resource in the game, it's only natural for players to find the most effective way of acquiring them. As it stands, Farms are the only guaranteed source of Coins, but they're terribly inefficient. Thanks to Markets in E&A, it's entirely possible to create a sustainable empire with little to no Farms.

However, you must be a high-level player for this strategy to be effective. This is because the highest level Oil Wells, Lumber Mills and Ore Mines are the most efficient, and therefore will result in the highest profits. Here is what you'll need to create each of the buildings required for a Farm-less economy:

Oil Well III:

• 13,500 Coins
• 1,350 Wood
• 40 Uranium
• 1,800 Population

• 15,750 Coins
• 50 Wood
• 45 Aluminum
• 2,250 Population

• 26,750 Coins
• 2,675 Wood
• 65 Copper
• 4,000 Population

Once you've reached the third tier of resource-generating buildings, it's time to mass produce them in order to produce both the amount of resources your empire personally needs, and excess resources to sell in your Markets. Generally speaking, you'll likely need 50 or more of each of these buildings to produce the resources needed, so the transition from a Farm-dependent economy to a Farm-less one will be slow. But the results are staggering, take a look:

According to this spreadsheet provided by an extremely skilled E&A player, chicharoncuneta, Farms provide marginal amounts of Coins at best compared to what you can make with a slew of Oil Wells and Lumber Mills by selling their spoils in the Market. We've omitted Ore Mines, because if you don't have an Ore like Gold or Uranium on your empire's land, profitability will be scarce. Sticking to Oil Wells and Lumber Mills is the best way to achieve complete independence from Farms.