Dear Croppie: Why Do Crop Circles Leave Their Imprint Behind Immediately After They Are Harvested?

Harvest time at Kitt’s Lane, nr East Meon, Hampshire; 2023.
Photograph by Hannah Kathleen.

On Instagram, we recently posted some photographs of the 2023 crop circle at Kitt’s Lane, near East Meon, being harvested. The images are interesting as they show the imprint of the circle in the field after the combines have cut the crop. This inspired a couple of readers to contact us directly and ask just how this effect occurs.

Kitt’s Lane harvest, 2023. Photograph by Crop Circle Explorer

We sometimes hear this effect referred to as a ‘ghost crop circle’.

Back when I was new to the croppie world around the year 2000, the ‘ghost circle’ term was generally reserved for a circle whose form reappeared the following year after the field had been turned and a different crop (usually oilseed rape) had grown. We have a long overdue article on this to come out in the future — we just want to make sure our facts are fully correct as we’re not soil experts — but that’s not what we’re talking about here. For the purpose of this article we are talking just about those circles whose design is clearly visible after the crop circle has been harvested.

Despite what we’ve read in the past, there’s absolutely nothing paranormal happening here and this effect can be explained in a very straightforward manner:

When a combine passes over crop, its cutting blades (particularly in uneven or sloped fields, and those containing large stones) are often not lowered all the way to the ground. Instead, the blades cut the crop a short distance up its stalk. Because of this, the downed crop in a circle will remain unaffected. In essence, the crop circle is untouched, it is only the standing crop around it that is harvested.

If you examine the above image in the main body of this piece, the area of the circle to the left of the tractor has been harvested. The area to the right has not yet been cut. Look closely at the lighter coloured crop in both halves and you will see that it is all flattened from the circle making process. This is supported by the fact it is possible to see the ‘weave’ effect inside the formation’s perimeter on both sides of the circle. 

Kitt’s Lane, West Meon, Hampshire, 2021. Photograph by The Croppie.

The Kitt’s Lane crop circle manifested in the same field as a star-shaped design in 2021. We visited this crop circle both before and a few weeks after it was harvested.

On the second occasion we were able sit on the flattened crop whilst grass was growing up around it and underneath it. It was a curious experience. It would have been interesting to follow the gradual degradation of the circle, but not long after, the field was turned and the crop circle disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived. 

So, there’s nothing supernatural about the post-harvest ‘ghost circle’. If you don’t believe us then do take the time to visit one after it has been harvested.