From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Oct. 20, 1989:

Crop artist Stan Herd was breathing a sigh of relief this week after his fears of appearing on Late Night with David Letterman, and possibly receiving some snarky comedy at the hands of the host, were set at rest. Herd said that Late Night writers had contacted him about two weeks previously, asking him to plow the name “Dave” in a field for an upcoming show — a feat about which he was apprehensive. “I was concerned, quite frankly, because I was afraid of bad publicity,” Herd said. “The Letterman show is known to have its way with people and I was concerned that they would slam Kansas.” However, after completing the work for a segment on the show called “Amber Waves of Dave,” Herd was able to breathe a sign of relief after seeing the final footage on the show. “I thought it was pretty neat,” he commented. Letterman’s name had been carved into a soybean field owned by Samuel Neis Jr., Eudora, the same field in which Herd had created “Sunflower Still Life” in 1985. Herd had plowed the name from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., while the show was being taped in New York City, and images had been transmitted live to the show by an NBC affiliate in Kansas City. NBC had promised to pay Neis for his ruined soybeans.