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At Goldenhills Plantation, you can appoint an eligible follower as steward—but not just any NPC or farmhand. Complete The Unquiet Dead, recruit a follower who can serve as a steward, bring them to the plantation, and speak to them there. The steward option should appear in their dialogue if they meet the requirements.
How to appoint a steward at Goldenhills Plantation
- Check that Farming is available in your game. Bethesda says Skyrim Anniversary Edition includes Creation Club content, but entitlements can vary by platform and edition. If Goldenhills Plantation is missing, check your installed content. Bethesda’s Anniversary Edition page describes the edition and its supported platforms.
- Complete The Unquiet Dead. The quest begins by investigating Goldenhills Plantation, east of Rorikstead, and is the entry point for the Farming creation, according to Bethesda’s Farming announcement.
- Recruit a potential steward as a follower. Complete any personal quest or other recruitment condition needed to make that NPC follow you.
- Bring the follower to the plantation and talk to them there. Steward appointment is offered through dialogue for eligible followers, as described in player troubleshooting guidance and the UESP Personal Steward reference.
Bethesda describes the Farming creation as letting you “elect a steward to oversee its day-to-day operation” and buy upgrades including animal pens, windmills, apiaries, and stables. That role is separate from the work done by farmhands.
Who is eligible?
The safe rule is to choose a follower listed as eligible for the personal steward role, rather than assuming any NPC you can recruit—or anyone already at the farm—will work. The UESP roster is a useful named reference; check it for your game version and installed content. The available sources do not establish a complete roster that can be reproduced here with confidence.
Farmhand and steward are different roles
Narfi illustrates the distinction: he can be hired as a farmhand, but that does not make him a steward candidate. A Steam Community discussion notes that he cannot be recruited as a follower, the route used to appoint a steward.
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What to check if the steward dialogue is missing
- Confirm that The Unquiet Dead is complete and that Farming content is available in your installed game.
- Make sure the NPC is currently a follower and that any recruitment requirements are finished.
- Speak to them at Goldenhills Plantation, not elsewhere.
- If you use mods, consider whether a modded landscape or other change is affecting the hiring condition. The Goldenhills Plantation Get a Steward Patch documents a reported issue for some setups; it is a troubleshooting lead, not evidence that every game has the problem.
Choosing between eligible followers
There is no established best steward for every player. First verify that a candidate is eligible and recruitable; then consider whether you want to keep using that character as a traveling follower. Your priorities and mod setup may also affect the choice. Combat strength alone does not establish that one candidate is the better steward.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do not confuse Goldenhills with Hearthfire homes
This hiring process is for Goldenhills Plantation and Skyrim’s Farming creation. Hearthfire is separate: Bethesda describes it as adding buildable homes and their facilities, not as the Goldenhills farm-management system. See Bethesda’s Anniversary Edition page for that distinction.
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