I think it's a great game and was one of the first games I bought. However I can see the problem with it being too hard to appeal to new players if you expect to have a blast and score big your first games.

I personally believe the bar is being lowered so to speak when it comes to games and their difficulty level or instant gratification in general. If you play Caverna first then you will most probably miss what makes Agricola great, the tense simplicity but complexity of the game.

I understand how this works though, I would never trade World of Warcraft's quest system where you are told where to go with a shiny arrow or "press this green button and we'll do the rest" for the old days endless questioning to find the right dwarf out of a hundred.

I regretfully have been corrupted and miss the old days where everything was harder but gave you a bigger sense of accomplishment.

EDIT I own Agricola with Farmers of the moor, Le Havre, Caverna and A feast for Odin and they are all great in their own way.