Crop artist cuts out message in wheat field

Oct 25, 2019

Farmer Nancy Haughian once again turned her crop into art by cutting out a message into a wheat field using the straight cut header on a combine last month.

Undertaking this task off and on since 1999, Haughian explained how she does crop art “just for the fun” on her farm west of Grande Prairie.

“People enjoy seeing what message I’ve picked for the year or picture and I do get a lot of positive feedback,” she said.

With the message changing each year, Haughian settled for “#farmin’ in the city” this time around.

“Since the city annexed the land, we went from the county to the city,” Haughian said.

“Now we’re farming in the city and now that the bypass is officially done, we are within that boundary.”

Crop art is dependent on weather and harvest conditions. Without the one-week window, Haughain said she likely wouldn’t have had a chance to complete her crop art.

“Even though I’ve been doing it for 20 years, I’ve maybe done 12 images because if the fall is not co-operative, I simply can’t do it,” she added.

“Harvest has been tough and drawn out and wet and just plain miserable.”

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

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That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.