Try to stop at a location where vehicles can easily see you from either direction - for your safety & theirs.

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During the growing season, this is one of the most beautiful sights in all of Eldred - lush farmland on either side of you and beautiful rolling hills to the left.

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The main crops here in Eldred are corn, wheat and soybeans.  There are three main reasons for this - #1. They are profitable - there is a market for them, #2. They grow here! (that is not as silly as it sounds) and the third reason - they "work" together - grass crops such as wheat cannot get their nitrogen (fertilizer - to grow by) from the air - they "steal" it from the ground.

But "legumes" - like soybeans - are able to fertilize themselves from the nitrogen in the air and actually put nitrogen into the ground.

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It also cuts down on the need for insecticides.  Most home gardeners know that by the third year of growing squash in the same location a healthy colony of insects that feed on them take "root" and will wipe you out.  The same goes for potatoes and various beans - so home gardeners either use lots of dangerous insecticides or, if they have enough land, move their "crops" around to different locations from year to year.

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Why do we grow so much corn?  The main reason is that corn is such a productive and versatile crop, thanks to years of investments in research, breeding and promotion. It has incredibly high yields compared with most other U.S. crops.  Plus, it can be turned into a staggering array of products. Corn can be used for foods such as corn flour, cornmeal, hominy, grits or sweet corn. It can be used as animal feed to help fatten our hogs, chickens and cattle. And it can be turned into ethanol, high-fructose corn syrup or even bio-based plastics.

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What about soybeans?  After all, how much soy sauce do we really need?  But soy products are usually marketed under some other names – like vegetable oil instead of straight soybean oil, or as margarine instead of hydrogenated soybean oil (since soybean oil is very cheap, mild in flavor, and easy to work with, it often shows up in pre-made baked goods and other foods). Soy products like tofu, soy milk, and natto are niche in the U.S., but we get to export it to numerous countries. The U.S. exports around half of the soybeans it produces. We are the biggest exporter of soybeans in the world. Our biggest customers are China, the EU, Japan, Mexico and Taiwan.

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There are also plenty of industrial, non-food uses for soybean oil: lubricants for cars, crayons, candles, hydraulic fluids, adhesives in particle board, solvents and more. Bio-diesel fuel is usually made with soybean oil.

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The soybean meal that’s left over is, almost exclusively, made into animal feed. It mostly goes to chickens, though pigs and cows (both meat and dairy cattle) eat it as well. 

Surprisingly, as of this year (2019), the USDA predicts that soybeans will cover the most acreage of any crop in the United States – surpassing corn for the first time – a trend that has been predicted for the past couple of years, and one that will likely continue for at least a few more. Corn produces much more per acre, but soy prices are commensurately higher.

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This information is from Georgia Smith (with a big thank you to ‎Maryann Modafferi Caprioli‎). She and her husband Gerald were lifelong West End farmers:

Another important crop is hay which is fed to cattle, horses, and other animals. The main hay crops grown in this area include alfalfa, clover and timothy. Probably, the hardest work on the farm was, and still is, baling hay. It has to be done on hot, sunny days and the hay must be dried. There are several steps in hay making. It must be cut, tedded (A tedder is a machine used in haymaking. It is used after cutting and before windrowing, and uses moving forks to aerate or "wuffle" the hay and thus speed up the process of hay-making.), and raked into rows all before baling. Finally, it can be baled. A machine bales the hay, but the hay must be caught and stacked by farmers standing on a moving wagon. The baling machine is connected to the back of a tractor and the wagon is connected to the baler. Average hay bales weigh 40 to 55 ponds. When the wagon is full, the hay is taken to the barn, removed bale by bale, and stacked in the hay mound. This is another tedious job. Today, some farmers are making huge round hay bales which requires more machinery and less human work. Farmers are always looking for help during hay season. Most good hay fields produce 2 crops or 2 cuttings during the summer, and sometimes 3. So, when you think you are all done, it is soon time to start over. Are there any volunteers?

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One last topic about farming - cover crops.  Often you will see what seems like weeds or grass growing in the fields between typical growing seasons.  I like to call this "green" manure.  First, it puts nitrogen into the soil at its roots.  Also it protects the top soil from being blown away in the winter winds, and it anchors the soil to keep it from washing away or eroding in the rain and melting snow.  Its roots growing into the soil keep it loose and from compacting (preparing the soil for the next season's crop's roots to develop better).  The roots become added organic matter in the ground.  Some popular cover crops are: rye, red clover, sorghum, mustards, winter beans and winter peas.

Now you are ready to put on your coveralls, grab your spade and go out and farm.  If you want to learn more first, you could visit the 114 acres of the "Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm" (quietvalley.org/).

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Or if you are the thirsty type - visit the Big Creek Vineyard & Winery in Kunkletown (bigcreekvineyard.com).

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If you are in a good location, you may want to remain here for a quick "lesson" about electric power - those massive poles to your left are for PP&L - Pennsylvania Power & Light.