Farmer 'writes birthday note in manure'

A farmer from Iowa used a manure spreader and over 50 tonnes of animal waste to write his wife a birthday message.

Dick Kleis spelled out the phrase "HAP B DAY LUV U" in a field visible from the living room of his Zwingle home, the Telegraph Herald reports.

He said: "Someone said 'Do something you're good at', so I made a card with my 'pen'. I've just run out of stuff to do for her birthday.

"I was going to put a heart out there after the happy birthday, but I ran out of manure."

His wife Carole, who was also taken out for a meal and film, said: "He's done weird things before for birthdays, but maybe not this weird."

Of what she could do for Dick's birthday, she added: "I don't know what I would do yet, but I have six months to think about it."