Crop Circles - Local Farmers Fight Back

"Get off my land!"


It's a good 'un; well it made me smile

I find it utterly extraordinary that there are still a few deluded individuals left on the planet who cling tenaciously to the fantasy that crop circles are constructed by little green men, or some other paranormal force and refuse unreservedly to accept that they are the creation of a handful of rather talented arty-types with boards and programmable, computerized robot-rollers. They are content in the knowledge that man has landed on the moon but unwilling to accept he is capable of creating a pattern in a cornfield - come on! I would wager these same individuals can be found amusing themselves by hugging the stones at Avebury and chanting some New Age mantra or the like in the hope of eliciting the vibe whilst wearing a decorative crown of assorted foliage in their hair - bless 'em.

Crop circles are far from amusing for local farmers like Tim Carson of Alton Barnes, who has been beset by the circle makers for 20 years or more. Each one (over 120 during that period) he estimates to have cost him in the region of £500 - £1000 in damages per circle, which adds up to in excess of £80,000 over the years lost to vandalism, yes ‘vandalism!’ For let’s not beat about the bush people, there is no better noun to describe what is happening on private property and effecting farmers livelihoods.

Now, local farmers are banding together in an effort to “scrub out” any circles as soon as they are discovered on their property starting 2012 and on going. It is hoped this will ensure their fields are not invaded by sightseers but more importantly, the circle makers will realize they no longer have an audience as their creations will have been swiftly removed.

Very often farmers are totally unaware they have a circle on their property, until they notice hordes of people wandering about their fields often causing more damage than the circle makers. It seems to have escaped these folk's notice that they are actually trespassing on private property and have no business being there.

The circle pictured above, which appeared in 2011 near Cherhill of an stereotypical alien face but this time smoking a pipe (had to smile) had been heralded by some as the work of extraterrestrials, dear God spare me! Incredibly, there are also those who don’t see the damage caused by the circle makers and sightseers as vandalism. I wonder if hundreds of folk were to trample over their property they may reconsider the meaning of vandalism?

Hopefully this joint effort amongst Wiltshire's farmers will spell an end to the damage caused by the circle makers, it will certainly go some way to curtailing trespassing.