A small suggestion concerning the agricultural aspects of the LOTRMod:
INTRO
One of the most common and efficient ways to earn money in the LOTRMod, other than mining and killing, is farming! And thanks to the additions that the mod team has made (berries, fruits, different crops, etc.) it still seems a bit off, considering the other two choices are much easier prepared for and done than farming, which at the projected time period was the main source of income for most nations.
Therefore, I present to you a few additions that could make farming more realistic, more profitable and much more fun.
Items
Staff
Crafted in a pike fashion with wooden sticks:
As a melee weapon, it deals a measly 3.5 damage with 150% range.
However, it's primary use comes in its attractive effects to animals (similar to wheat), and when right clicking on an any passive animal, pulls them closer to the player.
Sickle
Crafted with 3 iron and 1 stick in a dagger-like fashion.
Right clicking berries with a sickle provides 1.5x the drop (which can be increased with luck)
Scythe
Crafted with 3 iron and 3 sticks, right clicking crops allows you to harvest an area of 3x3 of fully grown crops at 1.2x the drop (which can be increased with luck)
Hoe
Durability is increased, and seed drops are increased by 2x if breaking grass blocks
Lead
Now cartable with 2 rope in any formation
Bell
Crafted with 3 gold ingots in an inverted glass pattern (which crafts 6 pieces).
It can be used on a table of command to assign the summon command for units.
However, it's main purpose is that any harnessed animal within a 25 block radius will teleport to the player.
This allows farmers to better keep track of their animals
Harness
Crafted with 2 leather and 1 bell, can be placed on mobs by right clicking, which will allow you to demand their attendance with a bell, and makes the mob's nameable.
Basket
Crafted with 5 reed in a boat fashion, acts as a large pouch, however only allowing one to place food items in, despite it mostly being designed for the use of grapes and other fruits
Wine Bottle
Crafted with green stained glass (or amber, as a more expensive variant) in an inverted glass pattern. Can be placed down and acts as a container: it can hold up to 6 glasses of liquid.
As a bonus, holding an empty bottle allows the player to label it.
Short Glass
Just an added drink holder, crafted with 1 glass pane in a crafting table.
Fertiliser
Crafted with 3 bonemeal and 3 saltpetre, which makes 3 doses. It acts as a more potent version of bonemeal, growing the plants to their fullest extent immediately.
Wooden Buckets
Do you really need iron to carry some water? A wooden bucket is exactly that. Crafted in a V formation with wooden planks on any crafting table.
Blocks
Weed
Uncraftable. Drops 0-1 completely random seeds when broken.
Grows commonly across all of arda, but it's greatest nuisance is that it grows rarely (15%) on unkempt farmland, and has a smaller chance to replace a crop entirely (5%)
Through
Crafted with 2 logs and 1 plank in a slab fashion. is a 3x1 block which when right clicked with an item fills up, similar to an inverse fashion of a cauldron.
It can be filled up with 4 different materials: wheat (hay), seeds, vegetables and man-flesh / rotten flesh.
Their primary use is in feeding farm animals or other mobs (reasoning is explained below).
Hay (Wheat) is eaten by horses, aurochs, camels, sheep and kine of araw. Vegetables are eaten by pigs, boars, bunnies, and rarely bears. Seeds are eaten by all avians Berries are eaten by gemsbok, deer and dik-diks. Corn is eaten by all animals, save for gemsbok, deer and dik-diks
Through Textures
Food Textures
Hay
Vegetables
Seeds
Berries
Corn
Dog Bowls
Crafted by placing a bucket in a crafting table.
Allows one to automatically feed dogs, wolves and wargs, which only heals them.
Meat can be placed in there, as well as man-flesh (For wargs)
Throughs and Animal Farming
Throughs are an important addition in animal farming.
Giving food now to animals does not make them breed.
It now heals the animal (similar to wolves) and increases their size, health, and meat loot drop to a certain maximum.
Animals now have varying stats: as an example, lets take an Auroch. It can spawn with a HP of around 20 to 28 HP, and its loot drop changes accordingly.
Feeding it would increase it's hp by about half a heart (up to a maximum of 4 hearts) and increases it's loot drop by 15% each level.
Throughs come in handy in their usage of feeding animals nearly automatically, allowing someone who puts in the time and effort to build a proper farm and system to make much greater yields of their mob farm.
Animals now breed automatically.