Farmers here in WY do things different than in OH

I grew up on a farm where my dad grew wheat, corn, soybeans, and we baled hay/straw plus raised Holstein beef cattle too.  So whenever we go for a drive I notice the farms, the fields, and just how different it is here from back in OH!!

I will get more pictures/videos to share later, but here is one thing I've noticed. 

Here, the farmers like to burn their fields!  Scott and I debated why they did this - maybe to get rid of weeds/bugs, or maybe by burning them it put back nutrients into the soil.  We even asked someone in town but they didn't know why.

We are about 4-5 miles away from this farm, but could clearly see the 3 smoke plumes from our campsite on our land:

Well, I'm a very curious person by nature, so I googled why they may do this and here is what I found:

"Once the farmers have finished harvesting the corn they are left with the dilemma of what to do with the abundance of crop residue. This residue usually contains harmful insects, weeds and disease, which all have adverse effects on crops the following year. It is thought to be less expensive to burn the corn stalks and residue than to spend the extra money on gas to till under the residue and spray for disease, weeds and insects."

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/about_6111923_do-stalks-field-after-harvesting_.html#ixzz32Bhp8Any

I'll work on getting more pictures about things that WY does different than OH to share with you all.