I's a good question, John.
The 'feel' for an agricultural lifestyle/business model is important to those who rely on growing crops for a living, where we (or us at The Turrets), just do it because it's a rewarding pastime, and it doesn't really matter if stuff doesn't grow...
I talked it through with a hardened allotmenteer some years ago, and we both agreed that you really did have to know what you're doing! Yup, I can yap for ages on growing leeks for the home, but what if I need to supply carrots to a supermarket, or dig spuds to order? I certainly couldn't do it now, and probably would struggle in earlier years.
Mrs Growster and I have often discussed how we would approach farming, and immediately dismissed milk cows and other animals, as we'd give them all names...
You can't really name a parsnip but that would be the way to go for us, not acres of grain in all weathers!
Now, I'm going the other way, and growing far less, (except tomatoes) so the realisation of a reliable pension instead of a semi-derelict farmstead is a more appealing option!
But when I was a boy, my dad was Engineer for Guinness Hop Farms, and designed all the machines, oasts etc. It was a great job, and of course, I helped him during the holidays, and just loved the banter. But that was 'farming' on a totally different scale...
If you're interested, I'll PM you a link to where we all worked, down here! It's a great website!