even when they are planted in the local bi-annual monoculture of soybeans ( like these in porter county ) or dense yellow #2 there is nothing "natural" about these fields...chemically treated to a sterile "growth medium" with neat rows of all the same plants ( which is why there's a need for herbicides and pesticides...the lack of diversity makes them vulnerable to all sorts of issues...there's a lesson in that ) these fields are pretty much industrial plants and removed from nature....green or not...the majority of planted fields hereabouts are soybeans...
there are a few fields of corn here as well...replete with ears...they are, however a distinct minority along the roadside...
at least as populous along the county roads are the fallow fields...some, like this one, are supporting volunteer corn...which, in my experience, will not provide much of a yield...
many of the fallow fields have been plowed...this one looks to have been turned recently...
most of the ones that were turned in late june or last month have begun to show signs of a return if "native plants"...a first, albeit temporary, step towards a more "natural" landscape...
and there are a few out there that have been left untouched...work for the tractor come spring...the usda released its planted acreage estimate for corn yesterday and prices took a hit settling at $177.26 a metric ton...down $9.45 a metric ton since i last checked prices...the government maintains that 90 million acres are planted in corn...successful farming says 87.7 million...the usda figures are roughly equal to the total for 2018 which has some questioning them ( notably successful farming )...the harvest isn't in yet and prices will remain fluid and driven by speculation...if anyone takes a hit it will be the farmer.
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