It's not until around 1800 that the population ceased to be constrained by the ability to produce food. We live in a time of amazing abundance, they did not.
Farmers worked less hours and with much less intensity than industrial workers.
The incredible drop in life expectancy of farmers turning industrial workers says everything.
Its really a great lifestyle. I highly recommend it.
(Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate had a "nailery" where the nails were made that were needed for the buildings.)
In any case, powered irrigation is a huge deal. Just imagine the backbreaking work hauling the water by hand.
Not quiet, as they're not subsistence farming but surplus farming. Though, it's not surplus as in big business, just enough to make it through to the next the year's crop. I don't even think they have bank accounts etc.