BLT Research Team Inc.
Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA)
-- PRESS RELEASE --
DATE: July 24, 2005
RE: Herringbone "Weave" Found in Greene County, Ohio Crop Formation [photos: BLT Research Team Inc.]
On July 5, 2005 a Greene County farmer found what may be the very first crop formation of its kind in the world. The farmer, who wishes to remain anonymous, discovered an approximately 44' x 35' rectangle of downed wheat as he was harvesting his field, at first thinking the downed-crop area had been caused by deer. Upon closer examination he realized there was a distinct design to the manner in which the plants were bent over, resulting in a "woven" or interlaced herringbone pattern throughout the flattened crop.
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Photo taken by farmer on July 5th showing one straight edge of formation & beginning of herringbone pattern; cut chaff (on right) lies on top of the flattened crop. |
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Photo taken by BLT fieldworker JoAnne Scarpellini on July 19th, looking East;
section on left is where combine cut part of the formation on July 5th.
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The farmer reports that the 4 rows of wheat along the Southern edge of the field were not affected and that he saw no footprints or tracks in the flattened areas or along the grassy edge of the field. From the air the peculiar squarish overall design does not suggest a typical crop circle, and the herringbone lay of the plants is not apparent. The farmer had begun cutting along the Southern edge (closest to the green soybean field) of the wheat field and then swung across the very irregular East edge of the formation, obscuring some of the original detail there.
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Aerial photo taken July 20th. |
Examination on the ground by the farmer on July 5th, and later on by BLT fieldworkers JoAnne Scarpellini and Nick Reiter on July 19-20 & 23 showed that the intricate character of the lay was intact, except where the combine had either cut some of the rows or had blown chaff out over a part of the formation. The wheat had been planted in a 7" drill (7" apart) and there were 60 rows of flattened plants running E/W.
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Close-up of herringbone lay pattern, taken by farmer on July 5th.
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Close-up taken on July 19th which suggests that the herringbone pattern has been
created more by an interlacing of plants than an actual weave. |
The field examination revealed that a majority of the plants were bent over at the base, with the stems unbroken. No expulsion cavities were found and no visible node elongation was apparent. Although the farmer had cut the rest of the field, some seeds were obtained from control areas as well as seed-heads from within the formation so that germination studies can be conducted. Geiger-counter checks revealed nothing anomalous and there were no compass irregularities observed. Soil samples were taken to check for magnetic particle content, as well as soils for chemical analyses and a mycorrhizal fungi examination.
Close examination of each row of flattened crop revealed that the first 4 rows were laid in one distinct pattern, the next 4 rows in a different pattern, and that these two complex pattern sets repeated across all 60 rows. A diagram showing these lay details will be included in the final BLT Report.
A neighbor and his wife report a strange lighted object in th sky on the same afternoon that the formation was discovered—a cloud-like object which seemed to be "flickering" in a manner similar to a fluorescent light—which both husband and wife took at first to be lightning, although there were no storm clouds present and no thunder or rain. For 20 minutes or so they observed multiple flashing incidents, with very intense colors appearing for 2-3 seconds, the colors becoming more and more intense as the incidents continued. The husband, who works as a lineman for the local power company, stated that there was no "blue color, as in a transformer going off," but that the flashing looked more like an "ignition of some sort" inside the cloud.
And the farmer reported that he observed that his farm dog (which does not live in the house) had suddenly exhibited very strange behavior, refusing to go outside as was its custom, attempting instead to stay inside the family's garage as close to the steps into the house as it could. This behavior began the day the crop formation was discovered and continued for the following 2 weeks.
In the absence of several of the scientifically documented plant changes which can be expected in crop circles (elongated apical nodes, expulsion cavities) and since the soil work will take time to complete--and given that this is the first time a crop formation with squared edges and an interlacing herringbone pattern in the crop has been observed--we are not certain if this is a crop circle or not. The circles have, over the years, evolved from their original state, and perhaps this Greene County, Ohio event is revealing a brand new aspect of the ongoing phenomenon.
A written report will be posted on the BLT web-site when the germination study and various soils analyses are completed; perhaps then we will have a better idea of which category best suits this event.
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