That's not exactly true! Village Sim is more complicated than that. Villagers will continue to gain valuable farming skill working the farm (even when there are no crops to be harvested), which will pay huge dividends a little later in the game. While putting all of your villagers at the research table during times that the farm is bare will not necessarily disrupt your tribe's immediate food supply, it will have an ongoing effect on overall food production. That will, in turn, affect how quickly you are able to grow your tribe, since increasing your village's population depletes the food supply more quickly. It's always a balancing act to decide where to deploy your villagers at various stages of the game.
