And there's no reason not to land perpendicular
to the furrows in a plowed field. Sure, it'll be rough, but plowed
dirt
is soft and you'll slow quickly. You'll also have a very low ground
speed given the wind.

Dan

That is unless you happen to be flying out of Rieti in Italy.. They
use D-8 bulldozers to pull the plows through hardened clay, leaving
plowed up solid chunks about 1 foot across. The plowed fields
there were an absolute nightmare during the 1985 WGC. Loads of
off-field landing damages..

You have to know the nature of the countryside which you are flying
over.. If it's a fresh-plowed field in an area where there is some
moisture in the ground, then maybe it might work. If the area is
more arid, or if it isn't fresh plowed and has been left to sit and
harden, you will likely rip the gear off your glider - at the least....

Better to look at the edges of the field if it's large enough. There
may be furrows oriented into the wind there where the tractors
have had to change direction. Good examples are the crop circles
in the USA. They uses a circular irrigation rig, but the corners of
those fields are generally plowed straight, and are long enough for
a glider to land on.
You can also select the corner which provides the best landing
direction related to the wind...

It's always best to not be forced into only one land-out option where
you don't have a choice with crosswinds, etc. You have to make
those decisions earlier in the courses you select and the altitude
minimums which you decide that you can live with....

RO