The loan was not approved until May which is late in the season to start plowing. Robert Hedges made efforts in February to get credit and had failed. However, a Deacon named Richardson from Deer Park Baptist Church sold the tractor to the Hedges. Plowing was delayed further when he decided to rebuild the tractor for Robert. Soybeans were the crop in 1979, and they were late due to the various delays.
Soybeans set pods on the entire stem.
A tall stem has more pods. More pods contain more beans. Short summer beans have few pods. July beans are not able to grow through a long summer cycle, and yield is reduced because the height is reduced when the weather tells the bean plant to prepare for winter. There was a rare and unexpectedly flood of the Salt River in August, which killed the earliest-planted July beans.