There is one song that tells that the farmer was ploughing because he was too poor to afford not to. The Holy Family passed by that way on their escape to Egypt and blessed the field, so that it grew overnight and they could harvest it. When Herod's men came looking for the Holy Family, The farmer said truthfully that they had passed by when he was plouging the field. Herod's men took that to mean 9 months prevously and so went back to Herod to tell him they were too late.

LTS