Experiencing The Harvest

Soybean byproducts are in everything. Our food, our cosmetic products, the feed for our animals. Early records show that soybeans were grown and used in Asian countries as early as 1,100 B.C. and these “Chinese Vetches”, as they were called, were first brought to the American Colonies in 1765. It took over a hundred years for farmers in America to really incorporate soybeans into their crop plan in the late 1800's.

For as common as soybean fields are now, did you know that soybeans haven't been a part of American agricultural for much more than three quarters of a century? Lance Gibson and Garren Benson of Iowa State University, Department of Agronomy, wrote, “Most of the early U.S. soybeans were used as a forage crop rather than harvested for seed. There were only 1.8 million acres in the United States in 1924 when the first official estimate became available. At that time, most of the crop was used for hay.” Which is totally crazy. I can't imagine using soybeans for a forage. Anyways, soybeans didn't become popularized in the United States until WWII created a need for alternative sources of protein and oil.

As this year draws to a close it is interesting to look back on the bountiful harvest. In many areas it was an exceptionally good year for growing crops. With plenty of rain and extended moderate temperatures many farms were eager to measure the season's success. Instead of driving past the fields and busy equipment this Fall, I had the pleasure of experiencing the fieldwork firsthand. I was able to ride along in the combine as my boss was harvesting what for him is a cash crop.

It was exciting riding in such a big machine. Clipping along at such a laid-back pace but requiring so much precision from the operator. 

Even more incredible, was the ability to contrast the modern equipment and technology with the technology farmers were using when soybeans first came onto the scene. It was like stepping back in time because a large plot of land adjoining my family's farm was recently bought by an Amish family. The Amish planted and harvested the soybean crop with horses, old style equipment and lots of manual labor. In fact, one day I drove past and noticed 6 or 7 men and boys going down the rows, pulling the weeds by hand. This was after the soybean plants grew to tall to use a cultivator.