Monsters of the Pea Field - The Story of the Pea Harvester (Trailer for DVD)

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This third instalment into the fascinating world of harvesters looks at the previously untold story of Britain's favourite vegetable -- the humble Pea and its journey between pod and plate.
We take a slightly different approach in this programme and follow the Anglian Pea Growers and their entourage, who manage to keep the peas flowing despite such difficult weather conditions in 2007.
Archive and contemporary footage takes us from arduous hand picking, to the first mechanised pea cutters and loaders and shows machines from FMC, Ploeger, Mather & Platt and Shelbourne Reynolds, culminating in the latest impressive six-wheeled harvesters built by PMC.
Mighty oaks may grow from little acorns but the humble pea demands the attentions of some seriously magnificent machines to ensure its safe and timely passage to our dinner table, so whilst chasing that elusive pea around the plate, spare a thought for those giants - the Monsters of the Pea Fields.
150 mins

[@TractorsNStuff]

wow, those vines look small! I was a mechanic on a harvest crew running FMC's and they would only go about 1mph at most 2. The vines were very thick and loaded with pods. Making repairs was a full time job. In the US, we call those 'pipes' - hoses. When one of them breaks above the full hopper, it was a bad day. All those peas must be put to the ground and the farmer still gets paid. Good times though.

[@aaron12v92]

i use to drive these back in highschool in the late 90s, the fmcs had the diesels in the rear.. had one john deere and the rest duetz v8s air cooled. the muddy fields were the best getting those diesels to bogg a little bit watchin the gauges raise in temp!!

[@bovellois]

I operated the first pull-type and self-propelled pea harvestors (FMC with Deutz aircooled egines) in the mid 1970s. Pea vines were mowed with a swather, the harvesters had a pickup. We had to watch our speed constantly to avoid plugging the feeder chain, and on rainy days the nets inside the beater would get coated with wet leaves and empty pods and we had to beat them with a stick every 30 minutes, or the peas would go right through to the back and on the ground.

[@peteacher52]

Interesting and worthwhile because the commentary can be appreciated by interested "outsiders" as well as growers themselves. Was the intended audience teens deciding on a career path?