When I was younger I wore nothing but seed-corn caps. The sun on my neck and ears never seemed to bother me then while I was out farming. I worked nights for about five years in my late 30s, and somehow I felt the sun a lot more when I was farming during the day. I've taken to wearing straw hats during 'straw hat season' (Memorial day to Labor Day). I get the cheapest imported Mexican straw hats ( about $10) to wear while baling hay and other dirty, dusty jobs around the farm, and throw them away at the end of the summer. I buy better grade straws ($30 and up)for church and business wear, and demote them to farm wear(for less dirty work) after they start getting sweat stained, which is generally about one summer. I've noticed that the sweat stains show up more after the hat has been in the closet over the winter.
I have a similar policy for fur felt hats: Buy a decent quality hat, wear it for church and business wear while it looks presentable, then wear it around the farm as long as it lasts. Good quality fur hats, if taken proper care of, will stay looking good for years, and will last even longer as a work/sport hat when you don't care how it looks. I have a Shepler's 'Dynafelt' fur blend hat that I now wear around the farm that I bought 30 years ago.
One other thing, some biting insects, most notably deer fly, won't come in under a hat brim to land on and bite your ears and the back of your neck.
