Orange tents?

Question

Saw a farm field dotted with orange tent like structures today. What is in the tents and why are they there?

Answer 1

Did you see any animals in the field? It sounds a little like some hog houses you see around here in pastures. They are made out of wood, but resemble tent like structures. Have seen some painted barn red, but no orange ones.

Answer 2

There are one of two types of research being conducted:

--Entomology:  the tents are put up to keep the insects (beneficial or pests) in and around the crop.

--Genetic:  if they are trying to have a large number of plants self-pollinated and they are the same variety and can be open pollinated, this method is used with a hive of bees inside the tenting.

There are a lot of these in the field next to my home, as the area is the research plots for the local landgrant school.

Answer 3

If the field is in fact planted they could be test spots.  Pesticide, fertilizer and grain distributors will often have test areas to see how well their product performs in "the real world."  If that's the case you should see a small sign somewhere near the road with numbers and/or a brand name on it for other farms to recognize.  Wouldn't really be noticeable (about the size of a yard sale or for rent sign) to others not paying attention.