I always did the 3 farming first too. But the new tribe, I said no and opted for the 3 med and I had 17 people in the tribe (thanks to the event of old friends) Surprisingly, they muddled through very well, never getting below 100 food before the new crops came in. HOWEVER, I didn't leave them alone very long because once the food drops below 300 they start worrying about food and are unproductive.

Also since I kept a semi eye on them that allowed me to collect mushrooms with the kids. By the last 30,000 points needed for farming I had 13 Master scientists at the table and 2 adept. Didn't take long from there on out!:)

Add on-But it was on normal not hard! (reread original post)