Farmers often contact us for information about the crop circles and advice on what they should do if they find one in one of their fields.

They ask how other farmers deal with having crop circles on their land and sometimes they wish to get messages out about access, making donations, and to give contact details for those wishing to ask for permission to visit their fields.

Some farmers are convinced that all circles are man-made and that allowing visitors to the circles will only encourage more vandalism. This remains a major obstacle to co-operation between the two communities and obviously is at odds with the widely held view of the crop circle community who generally consider the crop circles as an inexplicable phenomenon.

However, it is important to know that not every farmer believes the circles are the work of human pranksters. Some farmers do see the crop circles as a real mystery and are genuinely open as to their origins. Many remember circles appearing on their farms when they were children, and many are happy to allow people to visit the circles on their land, as long as visitors act responsibly and respectfully.

The farmers who are open to visitors will usually place information on a gate or at a field entrance to guide people in. This will avoid further damage to crops by visitors by showing clearly the preferred point of access. Some farmers also place 'honesty boxes' for contributions or donations either at the field entrance or in the circle itself. The box needs, of course, to be strong and secure, and they should be emptied every day. The majority of visitors are more than happy to contribute, indeed they actively want to, and this can be a good way for the two communities to co-operate.

Most crop circle websites carry some sort of guidelines for visiting the circles, including getting permission to enter fields and keeping to tractor-lines to avoid causing further damage the fields. Most carry warnings about smoking, litter and parking. Most also strongly encourage people to contribute to honesty-boxes. £2 - £3 per person is the general rule of thumb, although more is always welcome. It is always helpful to place guidelines at the crop circle site.

Our guidelines for visitors can be found here

For general background information about crop circles see our FAQ here

If you are adamant that you do not want visitors in the your field then, as obvious as it seems, it will help put up a notice up stating this. Inevitably some individuals may ignore it, but most responsible visitors will respect such a notice.

Firstly, it is important to know there is no single body that represents the crop circle community. There is no 'centre for crop circle studies' to which everyone belongs or subscribes.

Most of the crop circle community are decent and responsible individuals. They all have a genuine respect for the farming world and are aware of the difficulties that crop circles can sometimes cause. They have a real concern and interest in creating and maintaining a friendly co-operative relationship between the two groups.

However, like any group, there will always be those individuals who decide to behave thoughtlessly and selfishly. While the vast majority of people are polite, accommodating, and respectful, there will always be those who are not. The whole community cannot be held responsible for the actions of those that behave badly. The whole group should not be tarred with the same brush.

Do you have some practical advice to offer others?

If you have a constructive comment to make about this information, or you have some useful or practical advice you think would be helpful to add to this page, please contact us.