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Comment by vacri | Hacker News Reader

The author has never worked on a farm; there is always something to do.

Actually, as a farmer myself, I'm not so sure. I spend about 2-3 weeks each year on my farm (small acre cash crop). Given the amount of time spent, I'm pretty proud of where my business is. I see others spending all day, every day, on their farm and are not making much more at it than I am. Granted, grains are a good business to be in right now.

However, just because there is always something to do doesn't necessarily mean it is smart to be doing it. Are the farmers who are always working on something better off for it? I unfortunately do not have sufficient data, but I wonder if working less could actually lead to increased profitability? Based on my anecdotal experience of observing neighbours, I think there could very well be some truth to it.

I'm not a farmer myself, but spent summer on a farm as a kid. It left me with the impression that there's always stuff to do. I certainly can't argue with your experience, and there's probably more truth to it now with modern tools and methods than there was when I was growing up. I work for a company that provides such tools - one of the things we're able to eliminate is the labour involved in simply driving around and making sure all the bores are drawing water for livestock - on a large farm this can nearly be a full-time job in itself.

It sounds like you've got a hobby farm. I could be way off kilter, but if that's the case, perhaps you're not as financially dependent on every crop, and can afford increasing the risk of disaster? I freely admit to not having any direct on-farm experience for 20+ years, so it's fair to say I'm a bit distanced from the devil in the details now.

I don't think he is addressing people who do physical labor.

It's still worth pointing out, since it's easy to take an aphorism like this and assume it covers everything.

It's also pretty easy not to.

Well, let's use that excuse for everything then. Never advise anyone on anything one person might find 'easy'. It's easy not to fall prey to the constant crap that the news media throws out - but hey, it's 'easy', so let's not remind people that news media has an agenda. It's easy to find flaws in creationist arguments, so screw it, don't oppose the bad science there. It's easy to remember where the assembly point is for the fire drill, so no need to put up signs. Hell, it's easy to remember to brush your teeth, so let's not remind people about the importance of brushing teeth.

What you say is the worst excuse I have heard in a long time, and betrays a fundamental lack of understanding of human psychology.

Farmers do Some physical labor, but their real job is management. Separates the successful (very few) from those that putter around painting fences and tinkering with the equipment, but who never study commodities futures or write a schedule.

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