Headland (agriculture)

In agriculture, a headland is the area at each end of a planted field. It is used for turning around with farm implements during field operations and is the first area to be harvested to minimize crop damage. The rows run perpendicular to the lay of the field and are usually two, three or four times the width of the implement used for planting the field.

The soil on headlands is subject to greater levels of compaction because it receives more traffic per unit of area than the field as a whole. Yields are generally lower than in the field itself due to additional implement traffic and crop damage from implements turning on them as well as compaction. Fertility levels are frequently higher than in the main part of the field due to overlapping applications of fertilizer coupled with reduced yields.