How long has it been since you last had crops, and how long do you usually leave the game paused?

Warren is right that the farm's crops are cyclical, and that you will usually see them depleted and regrowing on a regular basis. However, it seems to be possible to disrupt the normal crop cycle. I did do quite a bit of testing on the scenario that you referred to, and found that there are some circumstances that can cause the farm to enter a different cycle from the normal, predictable one.

The specific scenario that I tested was to simulate playing the game only during working hours and leaving the game paused for roughly 15 hours a day. In one of my games, I paused it the first time when the farm was empty, and it remained empty for several "real" days before producing crops again. In the other game, the farm was producing crops the first time that I paused it, and they never failed. They were so constant, in fact, that I was able to grow my population to several dozen villagers and complete all of the puzzles without purchasing Level 3 of Harvesting. I played both games for about 2 weeks, and the crops did come and go, but the cycle was prolonged and unpredictable.

I believe that it's best not to leave the game paused for extended periods of time when the farm is empty, to avoid the possibility of famine! As to whether or not you have encountered that situation, and whether or not you can salvage your current game, only time will tell. I was able to continue playing my "famine" game, but I had built up a decent surplus of food before the farm took a vacation.