By DARLENE PRINCE

prince@crescent-news.com

A field of tall, green corn is a welcome sight for a farmer, but it can cause problems for motorists, especially at intersections.

If the corn is not cut to a level where motorists can see traffic coming from either direction, drivers may have to inch into an intersection to see clearly. This could increase the chances for an accident.

Fortunately, authorities say, most farmers cut back their corn and allow a clear field of vision for drivers.

"Crops can't obscure the driver's view of the intersection," said Lt. Chris Clawson of the Defiance County Sheriff's Office. "The law says no signage or other items can be placed to interfere with the flow of traffic. The most troublesome intersections this year were planted with beans.

"Whenever we get complaints, we talk to the land owner or whoever farms the land," Clawson said. "They have always been cooperative."

Jim Lopshire, agricultural educator with the Paulding County Ohio State University Extension Office, noted, "Farmers like to wait until the corn pollinates and then they will break the stalk above the ear."

In Putnam County, Monroe Township Trustee Rob Howell said the township trustees bear some legal responsibility in the event of an accident caused by the inability of a driver to see because of tall corn.

"There is a legal responsibility for the township if the corn is growing in the right of way," Howell said. "The right of way is usually where the power poles are placed or the location of the gutter ditch, if there is one. We can go to the land owner or the person who is farming the land and ask them to cut that corn down.

"We cannot go to a farmer and ask him to cut the corn in his field," he continued. "But, farmers have always been cooperative with us. They don't want anyone to get hurt either. For $2 worth of corn, it isn't worth it for someone to get hurt.

"We always put a notice in the local paper to remind farmers to cut their corn at intersections. I am thinking if there is a young driver who just got his license and he can't see at the intersection, he might pull out and get hurt. We don't want that to happen.

"There was a lawsuit several years ago after a bad accident at the corner where four townships come together (north of North Creek)," Howell recalled.

"We were named in the lawsuit as the township that didn't have the corn cut. But I drove that way every day and I knew the area. The cornfield in the lawsuit was in a Henry County township, not in Putnam County. So, we were dropped from the lawsuit."

On the other hand, Roy Norman, organization director of the Ohio Farm Bureau for Defiance, Fulton, Henry and Williams counties, believes the problem of tall corn blocking motorists' vision at an intersection is "a huge one in northwest Ohio."

"This is an ongoing and a huge problem in northwest Ohio where you have flat roads and lots of stop signs," Norman said.

"A driver can go nine months and be a safe driver and then have three months of tall corn where they can't see," he said.

He suggested there should be some kind of standard for farmers to follow, perhaps set up by the Ohio Farm Bureau.

"A farmer can cut his corn just above the ear, still have that corn to harvest and provide a line of sight for the driver, too," Norman said. "I know some farmers who will just plant soybeans or alfalfa instead of corn, just so they don't have to deal with this problem."

As for legal responsibility, Norman believed a county could be liable for any accidents caused by corn growing in the county right-of-way and a township could be liable for accidents caused by corn growing in a township right-of-way.