Note the green pea combine harvesting in the field at the bottom of the photo. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company contracted peas from farmers and one option for harvesting them was to let the A&P bring in these heavy combines to pick up the pea vines, thrash them, capture the peas in a large hopper while dropping the residue from process back onto the field. It was fairly efficient except the weight of the machine resulted in compacted soil which could interfere with production of subsequent crops.