When I was a LOT younger my dad had a small milking operation, which meant that the cows had to be brought in from the pasture twice a day. He had two pastures, one on each side of his property, with row crops in between. Barn was in the center of the farm. He built a lane at the end of the fields to bring the cows from pasture. They made paths through the small "middle pasture" that ran up to the barn. None of the paths were straight. That was about 50 years ago. Bet you could still find the compaction today.