Written in the soybeans: Farmer uses soybean field to pop the question

A farmer in North Dakota used soybeans to propose to his girlfriend in a unique way that took months of planning. (Source: KFYR)
Published: Sep. 11, 2024 at 11:19 AM CDT
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HAVANA, N.D. (KFYR/Gray News) – A farmer in North Dakota used soybeans to propose to his girlfriend in a unique way that took months of planning.

Justin Lehmann started planning the proposal in May when he was planting soybeans on his farm near Havana.

He used technology and precision planting to write the words “marry me” into the soybean field.

Lehmann had to wait patiently for the crops to grow.

Once the soybeans were ready, Lehmann had a pilot friend take him and his now-fiancee Hayley Schmidt on an aerial crop tour. That’s when he popped the question.

Once the soybeans were ready, Justin Lehmann had a pilot friend take him and his now-fiancee...
Once the soybeans were ready, Justin Lehmann had a pilot friend take him and his now-fiancee Hayley Schmidt on an aerial crop tour. That’s when he popped the question.(Hayley Schmidt via KFYR)

Lehmann said keeping the proposal a secret wasn’t easy.

“It’s obviously huge letters in a field,” he said. “Luckily it was facing away from any major roads, so I was able to keep it away from mostly everybody. There were a couple people who saw it, but luckily, they didn’t spill the beans.”

Schmidt said she and Lehmann had talked about getting married someday, but she had no idea that the crop tour would end with a marriage proposal.

“Most people who know me know I’m pretty gullible, so I was like, ‘Sure, let’s go look at some crops and go on a flight.’ I didn’t really think anything of it,” she said.

“She had never been in a small airplane before either, so it was fun,” Lehmann added.

The couple is planning to get married late next summer, sometime between planting and harvest.