We can navigate using a field of crops by tuning to any changes in height.
The plants will never be the same height across a whole field and there are often dramatic changes near the edges. Crops exposed to strong winds grow shorter than others, leading to a tapering down in height on any field edges exposed to the elements.
If we know where the prevailing winds come from, we can make a compass by noticing where the crops get shorter most dramatically.
The video of a field of maize above was filmed in Sussex, in the south of England, where the prevailing winds come from the south-west.
Notice how the crops become noticeably shorter at the right-hand edge of this field.
South-west is to the right in this video.
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