Does Farmers Only help city folk and country folk to come together? Does it help country folk avoid city slickers altogether? Does it even work? We endeavored to answer all of these questions in our Farmers Only review, as well as giving our readers a taste of the user experience that they can expect on FarmersOnly.com.

— Pros and Cons of Farmers Only —

Pros

• Fast and easy registration process
• Genuine, sincere and honest user base
• Mobile apps for iPhone and Android
• Search-based matchmaking creates more direct engagement

Cons

• Free version is extremely limited
• Lack of automation may turn off some users
• Aesthetic of the site slightly antiquated

— In-Depth Farmers Only Review —

Country living — clean air, an honest day’s work, sincerity — the list of attributes, some real, some idealized, associated with a rural lifestyle are longer than a possum’s tail caught in a spinning wheel. (Okay, we’re not good at sounding folksy, excuse us!)

All joking aside, as much as technology and the modern lifestyle have contributed to creating a near homogenous culture across urban and rural areas, there is still a uniqueness to country living. With it comes a set of personality characteristics and relationship paradigms that make finding a person with country values worthwhile.

There are a few niche dating sites that focus on the rural demographic. One of the most talked about is FarmersOnly.com. Founded in 2005, it currently has over 5 million registered users with half being active on the site. Before you scoff at those figures, be advised that the industry average is less than 25 percent when it comes to active versus overall users. That means that FarmersOnly has managed to develop a user base that is actively engaged. That is always a positive sign when analyzing an online dating site. Of course, user figures will never tell the full story of a site. This is why we conducted a full review of Farmers Only.

— Who Is Farmers Only Really For? —

While its name implies that it is exclusively for farmers, the reality is that the site is designed to cater to any individual that lives in a rural area or those that want to meet people that live in rural areas. The scope of FarmersOnly is quite broad. It includes users that are seeking long-term relationships, casual encounters, and plutonic friendships. The age range of its membership is equally as diverse. Members range from 18 to 70+ years of age. The age range that has a relative majority on the site is that of the 25-45 segment.

The service is accessible on desktop browsers along with iPhone and Android mobile apps. This means that young and old, techie and tech-newbie can feel comfortable using the service.

— Farmers Only Registration —

Registering on FarmersOnly is fast and easy. Unlike other niche sites that push endless questionnaires to the front-end of the registration process, this site keeps the process simple. New users are only required to enter their zip code, a valid email, age, gender, and the gender of the match they are seeking. Once that information is entered, the site will prompt you to upload a profile picture. This last step, however, can be skipped. In our tests, registering for a new account on Farmers Only took less than a minute.

Having an expedited registration process does not mean that users of the site lack the ability to add detailed bios. You can modify and amplify your profile at any time from your account section. You can include a written bio, upload profile pictures and also add personal data, such as your religion, income level, etc. You can also set preferences for the type of match that you are seeking. These preferences include age range, body type, and religion among others.

— The FarmersOnly MatchMaking System —

Farmers Only does not incorporate a complex algorithm to generate potential matches for its members. Instead, it relies on straightforward search parameters to do the heavy lifting.

This means that users have to conduct frequent searches to stay abreast of potential new matches. Even the “who’s online” section and the site’s “swiping” game rely on the user to apply result filters for customization. Farmers Only does not perform any sort of algorithmic filtering.

While for some users the lack of a powerful matchmaking engine may be seen as a drawback, during our tests we found it to be quite an incentive to remain active and engaged on the site. The best analogy is comparing a car with an automatic transmission to one that is a stick shift. While Farmers Only requires far more attention and direct involvement from its members to be fruitful, it also allows each member to be more in tune with who is out there and sparks more genuine engagement.

The downside primarily affects those people that prefer their dating apps to do all of the vetting for them. Since Farmers Only does not deliver a constant stream of suggested matches like other apps do, this may be a dealbreaker for those types of people. Then again, being a site that focuses on a simpler and more wholesome lifestyle, the fact that fast-paced personalities are not attracted by its functionality may be a plus.

— Does Farmers Only Work? —

Based on our testing, we found that the members that you find on the site are genuine. We did not encounter profiles that we would classify as fake. When we engaged other members in conversation their intention seemed equally genuine. The overall atmosphere of the member community is upbeat and stable.

As far as matchmaking success goes — a visit to the FarmersOnly blog offers some insight on that front. On average, two posts per week appear on the blog from couples that met on the site and that are announcing their upcoming wedding. When you consider that only a small fraction of people ever take the time to actually post anything, that would mean that there are a steady number of solid relationships being formed thanks to the site.

— Cost of FarmersOnly.com —

Farmers Only has no cost to join. However, the free version is very limited in what you can do. If you want to be able to properly filter searches, respond to email messages and make use of the FarmPhone feature — it allows confidential texting between members without having to reveal their actual phone numbers — a paid membership is required.

One month will cost you $21.95. Users have the option of paying for six months in advance for a total of $65.94, cutting the overall cost in half.