Buckeye spirit spelled out in soybean field

WOOSTER, Ohio (AP) — From the air, you can see Scott McIntyre’s pride in the scarlet and gray spelled out in yellow and green.

In May, the Ohio State University research associate carefully planted plots of yellow-leafed soybeans amid a more typical green-leafed variety in an unused, four-acre field at the university’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center about 50 miles south of Cleveland.

Since the plants started coming up in late July, the two-tone field has displayed the words “OHIO STATE BUCKEYES” with an accompanying smiley face.

McIntyre, 43, said Tuesday he was inspired by how well Ohio State did last football season, and he noted that his tribute is best seen from an aircraft, flying about 1,000 feet up.

Yellow-leafed soybeans yield less and aren’t used often, and they start to turn green as they mature, he said, so the message may not last more than another week.

But the plants also hold on to their leaves longer than regular green-leafed ones, so the show of Buckeye spirit should be visible again at the height of football season this fall, McIntyre said.