FarmersOnly is a dating site for single farmers, ranchers and country-minded people in the United States and Canada. Its tagline is "City folks just don't get it." The name does not mean you must own a farm. It means the site is built around a rural way of life, and it is aimed at people who share it.

Where the name came from

The site says it was started by marketing executive Jerry Miller. A divorced farm owner told him that the big dating sites did not understand the lifestyle, and FarmersOnly was his answer.

That origin explains the tagline. The idea is that a woman who lives on or near a farm wants a man who understands early mornings, animals, weather and a long drive to anywhere. The site was built to put those people together.

Who it is for

Its own description names single farmers, ranchers and country-minded people. That last phrase is wide. It points to people who love a rural life, even if they do not work the land.

If you live in a city and have no interest in the country, this is not your site. If you live in a small town, work with your hands or simply prefer a rural life, it may suit you better than a general app, where you are one of thousands of men in a crowd.

How signing up works

Signup is free, and the form lets a man or woman choose who they are looking for. It is a simple start, and it costs you nothing to see who is there.

The site says it has many millions of members. Take that as the site's claim. A large total does not tell you how many active women are near you, and that number is what counts.

The question that decides whether it works

The only real test of a niche site is local. How many women within a reasonable drive are active, and are they your type? A site with millions of members can still show you a handful in your county.

Check this before you spend money. Once you have signed up, note how many recent, active women are close, and judge honestly. a dating coach's rule for any paid dating feature is to test it for a short stretch and count the results. If you get no conversations, drop it.

A note on safety

The site states that it does not conduct background checks on members. That is common on dating sites, but it is worth saying out loud. The person in the photos may or may not be who she says she is, and she may say the same of you.

Use the same care you would on any app. Talk first, move to a call if you can, meet in a public place and tell a friend where you are. In a rural area, the nearest town may be a long drive, so plan your route and your way home.

How to write your first message there

A lifestyle site gives you an easy opening, because she has told you what she loves. Read what she wrote about her animals, her land or her weekends, and ask about one real thing. A question such as how early her day starts shows you paid attention.

Avoid copying the site's clichés back at her. "I love the country" tells her nothing. A specific detail, like the truck you have been fixing or the fishing spot you go to, gives her something to ask about.

Is it worth trying next to Tinder or Hinge

If you live in the kind of place the site is built for, it is a reasonable extra to try next to a big app, because the shared way of life gives you a natural topic. If you live in a big city, a general app will show you more women.

Either way, track your results for a few weeks. A site is worth keeping if it leads to conversations and dates, and it is worth dropping if it only fills your inbox with silence.