Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message
Farmers operate by the position of the sun. They can't go
out to harvest certain crops until the dew is off, and daylight
savings time "delays" their ability to start harvesting by an hour.
Instead of being able to start at noon, they can't start until 1PM.

If they don't operate by the clock, why does that matter?


The cows need to be milked at 5PM and 5AM because the milk pickup guy
works by the clock, and that clock says he picks up the milk at 8AM.
It's got to be in the tank and cold when he comes, or it doesn't get
picked up at all and must be dumped on the ground.

OK, understandable

The farmer's lost
an hour of valuable harvest time because of daylight savings.

How so? The sun goes down at the same time no matter what the clock says.
If the farmer is not operating buy the clock, that should not matter.


No, daylight savings time is for the city folks and suburbanites, so
they have an extra hour of "play" time after work during the summer.


Partly true, some of us do take advantage of that time to do some work when
we get home. If I was in charge of time, I'd keep DST year round where I am
in the time zone, maybe move it another hour ahead..

Overall, your analysis is right, Edwin. It's more simply a case of
being a pita in having to do some things on "city time" even when it
doesn't match rather than any actual loss. We don't dairy so can't
comment specifically on whether any of the pickups are so rigid in
following the time switch or not -- really can't imagine so in these
days for sizable dairies, anyway. The dairies around here milk 24/7,
anyway, w/ only about a 3-4 hr window when they do the cleaning, etc.
Other than that, there's always a group in line waiting to be milked and
another on the way back out...

Banking and other services that are "early closers" anyway are
especially problematical. Mundane stuff can, of course, be taken care
of via the 'net these days, but some things aren't conducive (discussing
next year's operating capital plan, for instance). Of course, those
kinds of things aren't scheduled to happen routinely during peak harvest
or planting time, but if there's any area where "stuff happens", ag
qualifies, so one never knows.

During harvest and planting seasons the grain elevators and fuel
suppliers that do farm deliveries work extended hours, too; as do the
equipment dealers for parts, etc. Other ancillary services may or may
not and sometimes that can be a problem when their 5PM closing is still
middle of the afternoon for us.

It is somehow disconcerting, even if it is only psychological, to still
have daylight at nearly 11PM. Of course, those in more northern
latitudes are more used to that, but still, for them the same effect
must still hold. I find it much like traveling to the West Coast from
the East--you tend to go to bed on western time but awake on
eastern--after a while this gets really old.

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