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Cutting peas 30-35 years ago
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SEMNJM
Posted 6/13/2010 20:57 (#1235988)
Subject: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


I was visiting with a friend of mine today and he was telling me about a summer job he had with a canning company in SE MN in the late 70's. He said he was driving an older Farmall tractor (maybe a super M?) with a cutter/swather mounted on the rear. It had 2 seats on it, one facing the rear and he would drive in reverse when cutting peas into a windrow for the pull type combines to then harvest. Then to drive on the road or to the other end of the field he would switch to the regular seat and drive forwards. He said usually they would cut the peas going one way and then drive without cutting back to the other end. Just wondering if any one could tell me more about this or had any experiance with something like this. Pictures would be great! Thanks.
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Buster 50
Posted 6/13/2010 21:08 (#1235999 - in reply to #1235988)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago



North West IA/western AZ		I was there 68-71 and remember some of that. The swathers were mounted on the back of tractors leased from local farmers, but I wasn't around them enough to know about the seats. I drove a 4020 one night pulling a pea combine. Most of my time was spent scouting fields for weeds and bugs/worms like cabbage loopers. When we found them we got to go out and flag for the spray plane. I'd like to see some pictures too.
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gbfarmer
Posted 6/13/2010 21:26 (#1236022 - in reply to #1235988)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


SE MN		I did that for quite a few years, started when I was 16 years old. The canning company that I worked for, Libby's, had 880 Olivers that we drove backwards to cut. Ours only had one seat facing backwards so we sat on it kind of sideways going down the road. They had the brake and clutch controls rigged up so we had them where we could use them sitting backwards and you had to steer with you right had. All most always had to cut one way because the peas always leaned over and would not pick up good going the other way and it would leave too many. After a couple years on the 880 I got one of the J.E. Love cutters. They were a Ford tractor with a select-o-speed transmission and they turned the rear end around and raised them up a little bit like a high crop tractor. The drive wheels were in front and the steering wheels were in the back and we were able to always cut and drive the way we were facing. I always liked when the cutting went well because we would get ahead of the combines and they would make us stop and sit around till they got caught up. Don't want the peas sitting in a windrow very long before they were combined. Combine guys got jealous because we were getting paid for sitting. We alway had to be to work 1/2 before them also. Wish I had taken pictures back then. We had 4 cutters and 7-9 combines on a crew. Alot of guys in the field and something was almost always broke down. Now they come in with 3 pod strippers and a dump cart and get twice as much done!
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Ron swIA
Posted 6/13/2010 21:41 (#1236051 - in reply to #1235988)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


I worked for Green Giant at Belvidere, Ill in 68 and 69. The cutters on the 550 Olivers were 7 ft. In 69 we got a 9 ft Love set up on the rear of a 1650 Oliver. We had a kid the would run wide open in high reverse---he could cut more peas than 3 of the 550's



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2+2, MN
Posted 6/13/2010 22:06 (#1236086 - in reply to #1236051)
Subject: Re: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


New Ulm, MN		guys that swathed pea here would talk about going to the bar for dinner when they got ahead, had haveing a few, can't have a few these days but we sometimes will call ahead and order the speical and sent the crew boss to pick it up. the fuel guy talks about drivinga WHITE one summer pulling viners, shop took the AC belt off couse it took to much power (he thinks they just didnt want them driving with hte windows closed) so after 3 tries he got the right sized belt brought in his lucnh bucket, the next day there whole crew stopped after the day shift left the feild, took there belts out of hte lunch pails and put them one, closed the windows and started vining again.
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Illinois Steve
Posted 6/13/2010 22:23 (#1236122 - in reply to #1236051)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


North Central Illinois		Cool pics! I remember when I was a kid the Delmonte plant at Mendota Illinois ran all Minneapolis Molines until White bought Oliver. The dealer in town had both Oliver and Moline but apparently the Oliver division must have had a really sweet program for canning companies. From about the mid 60's to mid 70's just about every canning company within 100 mile of here ran Olivers. I remember a ton of 16,17,and 1855's being used by the canning companies. In fact there was an Oliver dealer somewhere not too far from Arlington and Lodi Wisconsin that supplied canning companies with tractors. This dealer had a program where he would rent these new Olivers out to people for spring work with the stipulation that they had to be back by a certain date for the canning company to use. My dad and Uncle rented a new 1755 one spring for a planter tractor. A neighbor went up and got it for them with a grain truck. That particular neighbor hauled many and Oliver back and forth between Wisconsin and Illinois back in the early 70's.
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Tom Graham
Posted 6/14/2010 13:46 (#1236791 - in reply to #1236122)
Subject: Olivers


Henderson, Minnesota		I was told on several occasions that Green Giant had an Oliver franchise/dealership to purchase their equipment. Around here they had those 1900 MFWD, some of them Detroits. There's still a couple in this country. I know of one of their 5/7 bottom pipe frame plows sitting in a grove. They had quite a few rented "company farms" in addition to contracted acres around here in the '60's and early '70's.
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collegeboy
Posted 6/14/2010 17:44 (#1236922 - in reply to #1236791)
Subject: RE: Olivers



Slicker than a Yes album.		Tom, do you know much more about Green Giant doing all the farming themselves way back when? Boss told me they used to do all the digging, planting, spraying and then harvesting themselves. Turns out, they weren't much good at it, and eventually let the farmer do all but the spraying and harvest.
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tedbear
Posted 6/16/2010 11:30 (#1239170 - in reply to #1236122)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn.
Illinois Steve - 6/13/2010 21:23

Cool pics! I remember when I was a kid the Delmonte plant at Mendota Illinois ran all Minneapolis Molines until White bought Oliver. The dealer in town had both Oliver and Moline but apparently the Oliver division must have had a really sweet program for canning companies. From about the mid 60's to mid 70's just about every canning company within 100 mile of here ran Olivers. I remember a ton of 16,17,and 1855's being used by the canning companies. In fact there was an Oliver dealer somewhere not too far from Arlington and Lodi Wisconsin that supplied canning companies with tractors. This dealer had a program where he would rent these new Olivers out to people for spring work with the stipulation that they had to be back by a certain date for the canning company to use. My dad and Uncle rented a new 1755 one spring for a planter tractor. A neighbor went up and got it for them with a grain truck. That particular neighbor hauled many and Oliver back and forth between Wisconsin and Illinois back in the early 70's.


I was working for the Delmonte plant in Wells Minnesota and drove one of the Scott's shown on the pics during that time frame. Prior to that I helped a neighbor who had one of the Love Pea Reapers mounted on the back of a 60 John Deere.

With the Deere, the tractor was driven in reverse and you just pulled the hand clutch rather than pushing it. You sat on an extra new seat between the right rear tire (from a forward direction) and used the original steering wheel but you gripped it from the reverse side. The unit was counterbalanced by some large coil springs. The operator literally lifted the unit by hand (with the help of the springs) on the ends etc. While you were cutting you kept your one hand and foot on this lever to keep the head down.

This was a difficult machine to run but was a great improvement over using a regular sickle mower (with special guards and a windrow attachment) that was used previously. The reel on the pea reaper helped pull the vines through. The vines were pretty much always wet underneath and difficult to cut.
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TD15
Posted 6/13/2010 22:31 (#1236138 - in reply to #1236051)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


My grandfather worked for Green Giant @ Belvidere in the summers also at night. Always remembered the parades of cutting crews going by the house. He even grew peas and I remember them coming in and really tearing up the fields if it was wet. Those pictures was just the way I remember it. Never could figure out why they didn't use John Deeres though. LOL . Olivers were pretty popular back then.

Edited by TD15 6/13/2010 22:32
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J.Hasert
Posted 6/13/2010 23:15 (#1236228 - in reply to #1236138)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


I was told the Oliver tractors had the best gearing for running slow enough in peas. Basically the tractors had to run a little faster than neutral. In WNY near Rochester IH tractors were popular. It was always exciting to see the crews on the move racing down the road.

706



Edited by J.Hasert 6/13/2010 23:19
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Ron swIA
Posted 6/14/2010 17:35 (#1236914 - in reply to #1236138)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


Do you know what is at the location of the Belvidere plant? Looking at google earth --- the plant on the south side of the road is gone, is the freezer still on the north side?
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TD15
Posted 6/14/2010 19:45 (#1237022 - in reply to #1236914)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


Its been years since I've been there I'm not even sure where its at anymore. I think it was Pillsbury last if I remember right.
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2+2, MN
Posted 6/13/2010 21:58 (#1236075 - in reply to #1235988)
Subject: Re: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


New Ulm, MN		Ahh one way cutting, some time we still have to harvest peas one way.
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Haleiwa
Posted 6/13/2010 22:05 (#1236085 - in reply to #1236075)
Subject: Re: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago



West Chazy, New York		My father grew peas in Pennsylvania probably fifty years ago.  They harvested with a sickle bar mower with two men walking behind it raking the vines off the mower with pitchforks.  I remember seeing a few forks around the home place with a tine cut off.  After they were mowed, they used a hay loader to put them on a truck and haul them to a stationary vinery.  Lots of hand work, and long nights waiting in the truck to unload.  They got their vines back to haul home for cattle feed.


Edited by Haleiwa 6/13/2010 22:09
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2+2, MN
Posted 6/13/2010 22:09 (#1236095 - in reply to #1236085)
Subject: Re: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


New Ulm, MN		grandpa said here they stacked the vines off the threshers into big piles, local farmers would come and get the silage later. most of the viners where parked in high gorund on the edgeof the slough hole. guess the pea juice had a place to run then.
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Tom Graham
Posted 6/14/2010 13:53 (#1236802 - in reply to #1236095)
Subject: Silage stacks


Henderson, Minnesota		The silage was allocated back to the growers according to how many acres they grew. I remember going to the stack with my friend and his dad at a very young age. Watching him fork a load of pea silage onto the '53 Dodge pickup. I remember seeing "for sale" ads in local papers "For Sale xxxx tons of pea silage at XYZ viner"
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J.Hasert
Posted 6/13/2010 22:29 (#1236135 - in reply to #1235988)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


Heritage Iron magazine has a story in the new issue on pea harvesting in the 1970's. It should be out in the next week or so. They sell the magazine at TSC stores.

There is a photo collection of pea harvest pics from the 50's through now at http://peas.toytractortimes.com

In WNY the IH 275 and 375 were popular machines for cutting peas.

 

Pea Swather

IH 375



Edited by J.Hasert 6/17/2010 22:25
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2+2, MN
Posted 6/13/2010 22:38 (#1236152 - in reply to #1236135)
Subject: Re: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


New Ulm, MN		sweet, can't wait for it to arrive! decided to not go back full time this year but i would fill in. first day of pack and i got to helo train in second day i had to cart and it poured rain. so got to train the new guys in on vining in the mud. (and steering clear of REA poles)
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onion farmer
Posted 6/14/2010 00:50 (#1236364 - in reply to #1236152)
Subject: Re: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


southeast Washington		I miss back when there were all the canning companys and pea harvest was a big deal. We had Libbeys,Birds eye,Walla Walla canning and a few more. Here we would do it about the same first haul vines and all to the stationary viners they dumped the vines in a big pit. And then the self propeld harvesters would pick up the swath and now we have strippers. I don't remember anything but self propeld harvesters maybe because here in the Pacifc north west we have steep hills to harvest. One popular tractor for swathing here was a IH 656 hydro. Here we lost all but one proceser and very few acers of green peas.
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MZ1
Posted 6/14/2010 12:53 (#1236736 - in reply to #1235988)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


N Illinois (I39 & US 30)		Summer 1973 between HS and college. Ran a swather for Del Monte. They were Case belt-driven units, but at least they weren't those backwards tractor mounted ones though. In 1975, we got Hesston hydrostatic units. Most of the time I could keep ahead of 5-6 combines by myself. Then during sweet corn, it was 2row mounted pickers on MM 602's. I still have nightmares bout that.
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JohnW
Posted 6/15/2010 02:42 (#1237567 - in reply to #1236736)
Subject: RE: Cutting peas 30-35 years ago


NW Washington		In north Idaho and eastern Washington around Lewiston Idaho they used to grow a lot of green pea and most recently used FMC viners with 4 way leveling under them to handle the Palouse country hills. But a few years ago Twin City Foods quit contracting them and they recently leveled the processing plant to the ground. So I guess green peas are history around Lewiston. I read somewhere that the demand for green peas was way down. Fewer people cook at home, and McDonalds don't have peas on the menu.
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