vandalism
Illegal crop circles in England destroy high value crops
Illegal crop circles failing to harvest have had serious consequences for farmers in England. The phenomenon also occurs again and again in Bavaria (archive). photo
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
They appear overnight and no one knows who created the supposed “works of art”: Crop circles are becoming an increasing problem for English farmers. The financial losses are in the tens of thousands.
Farmers in England have reportedly lost tens of thousands of pounds in recent years because of crop circles. As the Guardian newspaper reported on Saturday, between 2018 and 2022, a total of 92 crop circles of various sizes destroyed around 30,000 pounds (33,600 euros) worth of grain. The affected area corresponded to more than 40 soccer fields. The paper calculated that the amount of wheat and barley would have yielded 300,000 loaves of bread and the flattened rapeseed would have yielded 600 liters of rapeseed oil.
“They destroyed all the wheat, about three or four tons,” farmer George Hosford told the newspaper. Crop circles also appear again and again in Germany, but there are particularly many in southern England and especially in the county of Wiltshire. The origin of the phenomenon is discussed again and again.
“Obviously I don’t think aliens are doing this crap,” said farmer Hosford. “It’s done by people using ropes, planks and ladders to flatten parts of the crop.” Wheat is particularly suitable because it is fine and upright. Damage is also caused by onlookers trampling on the field. Photos of the crop circles and their locations often appear on the Internet after a short time.
In view of the rising grain prices as a result of the Russian war against Ukraine, the crop circles have recently come under more criticism. On the London futures exchanges, the price per tonne of wheat has risen by 30 percent since 2021 and the price of barley by almost 40 percent.
“Guardian” report