Just a little thought passed me. What if crops, such as wheat etc were a measured item. Like liquids and all they have set levels, 1 through 7, and so could track growing instead of just suddenly popping into existance as a fully harvested item. So you could have levels wheat, 1 through 7, and it would take say a set time to reach 7 where it wouldn't grow any more and eventually rot if left unattended. So for example, a dwarf plants the crop. It starts growing, starting at 0 and progesses to level 1 at a set time. Where it is possible to harvest it, but you'd recieve hardly any yield. Or you could leave it to grow to level 7. I'd assume the maths would be fairly easy, level 7 has 7 times as much food as level 1. But this would require some sort of rejigging of the food system. But it does come with many benifits such as being able to harvest early but at a cost. It would obviously have to be different for other crops... like bushes etc, which wouldn't die off they'd just remain there while their fruits grow, again this could be measured with the level 1 to 7 in the same way, but would continue to grow even after harvested.
What do you think? Going anywhere with this idea?