You could call it waking up to the roosters for more than 60 million people.

"I wake up in the morning, and one of the first things I check is Farmville; just to see if my crops are finished, or what's ready to be harvested," said Teera Parr.

Within just a few months of its creation, "Farmville" quickly became one of the most popular games on the internet---for players young to old.

"I've accumulated horses, cows, goats, sheep, and it's just exciting," said Beverly Richmann.

The game created by Zynga and hosted by Facebook takes farming to a whole new level---virtual level, that is.

Players are given a plot of land.  Then, the goal is simple: grow your crops, harvest them, and do so before they wither and die.

That can become pretty time consuming.  Just ask Teera Parr, a grad student in college.

"I'll be sitting in class like, my corn is ready to harvest.  I don't want to be sitting here.  I want to go harvest my corn, so I can plant my peppers," said Parr.

And it's that detailed attention the crops need that has people hooked.

Beverly Richmann keeps her crop schedule in a daily planner, with symbols for each one.

"P-C-G.  That means pigs, chickens, and goats.  You had to do those in the morning.  My fruit was in the PM.  Then, I have to milk," points out Richmann.

But even she can't fully explain what's so appealing about tending to her virtual farm.

"I can be talking, and I'll say, what time is it?  He'll say, it's 4:15.  I'll say, I've got a crop due.  So, you run off and you go do your crop," said Richmann.

Even I have fallen victim to the power of Farmville.  I've only been playing the game for a couple of months now, and I'm already obsessed with it.  But, I decided maybe we should leave the virtual world, and head out to the real farm.  What I found is life on the real farm is no pony ride, I mean mouse click.  It's actually a lot of hard work.

Just ask long-time dairy farmer Steve Fielden.

"On days, you just get so physically tired, you can't hardly put on foot in front of the other," said Fielden.

He says a typical day on his family farm starts early in the morning and often goes well into the evening.

"14 is an average day, you know.  If it's really work weather, sometimes we put in more than that," said Fielden.

Which is probably quite a bit more than the average Farmville addict will ever put in on a single day of virtual farming.

Fielden says real life on the farm isn't a choice, or even a game. It's a lifelong commitment.

"This is the only place I've ever been.  I've never  had a real job, if you will.  I don't know if I could work for anybody or not.  I'm kind of hard-headed and independent, and most farmers are," said Fielden.

And while virtual farming is not nearly as hard or time consuming, Farmville still has a way of stopping people in their tracks. In fact, while interviewing Richmann, we had to pause when one of her farm neighbors asked for help.

"The gophers have been munching all of her crops, and I'm going to help run them away," said Richmann.

And whether helping your neighbors, or simply trying to make some hardcore farm cash, Farmville has become a way of life or maybe simply a distraction for millions.

"I get made fun of.  It's like, I'm checking my Farmville.  What's wrong with that?  That's normal, right," said Parr.

Farmville debuted in June of this year, topping its predecessor Mafia Wars.

A report by the New York Times says the ratio of virtual farmers to real life farmers is about 60 to one.

Story ideas or comments?  Email me at wcarter@kspr.com