In this parable the sower is not scattering his seed carelessly and clumsily so that much of it is lost. On the contrary, he deliberately sows along (and even on) the path and among the thorns (Matthew 13:7). He does this because the common farming practice in ancient Palestine was to sow before plowing; he sows on the untilled stubble field. After the sowing, the entire seeded field was then plowed.1
4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.