The mid-west farmland seen up close,
the only way it should be seen,
is black, then green, then gold and tan.
The corn comes first in narrow rows,
the soybeans planted next will spread
into a leafy blanket for
a while, then brown and shrivel, dry
and seem to die. The corn is bred
to grow a single ear per stalk.
The harvester has different jaws
to chew each crop and spit the grain
in trucks. The farmers stand and talk
of yield and price, machines and laws.
They seldom look to see a plane…

– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, October 16, 2013

NOTE: Views from the Edge found this photo of Amish farmland from Pennsylvania Dutch country.

Amish farmland quilt