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[A_Curious_Cat]

One of the problems I’ve had with surface farming is that I can’t set up a plot because there’s a boulder/pebble on one of the squares.

Therefore, I propose that a new designation should be added to the dig menu, called “Remove rock from soil”.  When used to designate a soil tile, a miner should come along and remove any pebbles and/or boulders from the tile.  In the case that a boulder is removed, a boulder (of the type produced by mining out a tile) or gem should be produced with the same probability as if a tile of the same type as the boulder had been mined out.  Finally, if this designation is used on a non-soil tile, then it should be ignored and have no effect (preferably it should not be possible to designate non-soil tiles with this designation at all).

Thank you for your time.

[Pillbo]

I think when you designate land for a farm they should just prepare the land like any real farmer would: clear plants/rocks/pebbles, till the soil, plant. You're converting the land, why would a small obstacle have any impact on that? Why make the player explicitly instruct them to handle pebbles?

[Eric Blank]

That's actually a good point. Just have the farmers do it if there's farmable soil in the area at all.

But a designation to remove obstacles and replace them with soil would still be beneficial for areas you don't want to farm, say, if you want wild grasses and trees to grow there instead.

It's not even something a miner would have to do necessarily. That kind of work doesn't actually require skill IRL, just effort and time. And shovels and picks help, maybe unskilled dwarves will take up the job and grab a tool of one is available, allowing them to work faster.

[Pillbo]

That's also a good point, it would be a useful ability.

[Moeteru]

Another possibility would be a new gathering zone for soil/mud, and a new designation that prepares an area for farming. This would encompass both clearing boulders as in OP's suggestion, and bringing soil from a soil-gathering zone to scatter on the ground.
I feel this would also be a lot more satisfying than the current system where you can take clean, potable water from a well and scatter it on a clean stone floor to magically summon mud. Not to mention that you have to dig out a hole on the layer above in order to get your dwarves to pour buckets of water out on the floor, which is a little silly. If Toady wanted to keep the complexity of having to irrigate fields then that could be required as a second step after scattering soil.

[Mobbstar]

It's not even something a miner would have to do necessarily. That kind of work doesn't actually require skill IRL, just effort and time.

So like a dirt road?  Takes some time but no skill for the menial labourer to do, and results in soil that still needs to settle before growing wild plants.

[A_Curious_Cat]

It's not even something a miner would have to do necessarily. That kind of work doesn't actually require skill IRL, just effort and time.

So like a dirt road?  Takes some time but no skill for the menial labourer to do, and results in soil that still needs to settle before growing wild plants.

I know how to make a dirt road.  I always do that when preparing a surface plot.  What I’m talking about is something that will remove pebbles and/or boulders.  Making a dirt road won’t do that.

[Mobbstar]

I know how to make a dirt road.  I always do that when preparing a surface plot.  What I’m talking about is something that will remove pebbles and/or boulders.  Making a dirt road won’t do that.

Yes, I know.  To specify, I meant that the suggestion of farmers dealing with pebbles automatically sounds similar to making dirt roads.

[delphonso]

I think when you designate land for a farm they should just prepare the land like any real farmer would: clear plants/rocks/pebbles, till the soil, plant. You're converting the land, why would a small obstacle have any impact on that? Why make the player explicitly instruct them to handle pebbles?

I think this is an elegant solution and would be nice to open the surface up to more aesthetically pleasing farms.

[A_Curious_Cat]

I think when you designate land for a farm they should just prepare the land like any real farmer would: clear plants/rocks/pebbles, till the soil, plant. You're converting the land, why would a small obstacle have any impact on that? Why make the player explicitly instruct them to handle pebbles?

I think this is an elegant solution and would be nice to open the surface up to more aesthetically pleasing farms.

What about trees and boulders?

[delphonso]

When you designate a farm now, what happens when there's a tree - don't know off the top of my head.

I'd expect it's like other workshops where the obstacle is considered too much. That can remain the same, or the tree could be automatically designated for woodcutting - seems odd, though, given the elf treaty mechanic.

[Pillbo]

I think when you designate land for a farm they should just prepare the land like any real farmer would: clear plants/rocks/pebbles, till the soil, plant. You're converting the land, why would a small obstacle have any impact on that? Why make the player explicitly instruct them to handle pebbles?

I think this is an elegant solution and would be nice to open the surface up to more aesthetically pleasing farms.

What about trees and boulders?

Cut down trees, move boulders. Dwarves should be smart enough to move things out of the way for any constructions anyway, it's not reasonable to suspend construction because there is an object on the tile. I wouldn't build a farm over a tree if I wanted the tree there.

[A_Curious_Cat]

I think when you designate land for a farm they should just prepare the land like any real farmer would: clear plants/rocks/pebbles, till the soil, plant. You're converting the land, why would a small obstacle have any impact on that? Why make the player explicitly instruct them to handle pebbles?

I think this is an elegant solution and would be nice to open the surface up to more aesthetically pleasing farms.

What about trees and boulders?

Cut down trees, move boulders. Dwarves should be smart enough to move things out of the way for any constructions anyway, it's not reasonable to suspend construction because there is an object on the tile. I wouldn't build a farm over a tree if I wanted the tree there.

The boulders that I’m talking about are a special kind of surface tile, not the large rocks that come from mining (which are often also called “boulders”).  A pebble tile is also a specialized surface tile.  According to the wiki both types of tile can be smoothed, but that leaves a stone floor that can’t be used for farming.  The wiki also says that, if you place and remove a construction on a boulder tile, it’ll automatically revert to a soil tile.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t say anything about wether the trick works for pebble tiles.  In any case, I’d like the ability to use this for things other than farming, so I think it should be a separate designation.  Probably, what should happen is that the designated tile gets turned to soil and a boulder (of the large rock variety) is produced if the tile was a boulder tile.  In the case of farming, perhaps things could go like this:  The plot is automatically cleared of trees as though the trees had been designated for chopping.  The plot is automatically cleared of plants as if it had been designated for plant gathering.  The plot is automatically cleared of boulders and pebbles as though the suggested designation had been issued. Finally, the plot is automatically plowed as if a dirt road had been designated.  The plot is now ready for planting (or fertilizing).

[Pillbo]

Yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting. I was only talking about farms.