# Farming: Why don't I see people working in the fields? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farming-why-dont-i-see-people-working-in-the-fields/585478 "2011-06-14T20:04:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farming-why-dont-i-see-people-working-in-the-fields/585478/21 "2011-06-14T23:35:20Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Singing to the corn to make it grow. No need. The corn is already as high as an elephant’s eye. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farming-why-dont-i-see-people-working-in-the-fields/585478/22 "2011-06-14T23:40:08Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > If a farmer never goes out on foot to inspect his crops, he will never be outstanding in his field. Boooo Hissss _throws something_ ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farming-why-dont-i-see-people-working-in-the-fields/585478/23 "2011-06-14T23:56:27Z")
In California, especially in the summer, it’s too hot to work during the day, so you’ll see workers out very early morning, before sunup. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farming-why-dont-i-see-people-working-in-the-fields/585478/24 "2011-06-15T01:46:57Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Singing to the corn to make it grow. Or looking for everybody that was wished there. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farming-why-dont-i-see-people-working-in-the-fields/585478/25 "2011-06-15T02:04:49Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Are most of the farms that you can see from the road idle, Do you see crops or weeds? Even if you see weeds now. within a month the farmer may roll through spraying herbicide and drilling beans covering a huge field in mere hours. It will then need little work until time for harvest. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farming-why-dont-i-see-people-working-in-the-fields/585478/26 "2011-06-15T03:02:40Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I own a farm, and you’ll rarely see the Mrs. and I out in the alfalfa fields (unless we’r re-enacting ‘splendor in the grass’). > > But nearby, my cousin has a strawberry farm, and from early to mid spring until the end of strawberry harvest, I think someone’s out there working whenever there’s daylight. Yep you see a lot of migrant farm workers out around here harvesting strawberries and other things that have to be hand-picked. Other than that, most everything is mechanized. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farming-why-dont-i-see-people-working-in-the-fields/585478/27 "2011-06-15T15:09:52Z")
Mechanization also means that things happen very fast. Even at harvest time, unless you’re there at the precise day and time that someone’s harvesting that particular field, you’re not gonna catch anyone out driving the combine. They zip through acres pretty quickly, and then there’s just empty fields to see, maybe bales. I drive by acres and acres of cotton fields every day (big crops around here are cotton and peanuts). Still, I rarely see anyone harvesting. Most of the time, the fields are full of plants one day, and full of semi-trailer-sized cotton bales the next. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farming-why-dont-i-see-people-working-in-the-fields/585478.md?page=1)