Truth About Daylight Savings Time and Agriculture

Daylight Savings is this weekend and while you might have heard at one point that it was done for agriculture, that is a myth.

Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Kathryn Walker said when the idea was originally proposed, many farm groups were against it, but most probably welcome it now.

“Farmers and their families are not much different from folks in the city. A little extra daylight extending into the evening is usually welcome after a dark, dreary, and wet winter. But it probably doesn’t have any special benefit to the farming operation.”

Most farmers have learned to adjust to the changes that come with daylight savings.

Walker said there is a drawback though.

“In most agricultural operations, the job is focused on daylight, not the clock. Crops and livestock don’t really care what the clock says.”

Daylight Saving starts at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning.