In Podcast #27 the Trekkers visit the Wakefield Peanut Company! Peanuts are an important product in the southern counties of the Coastal Plain region.  If you live in one of those counties and know some peanut farmers, why not make a video and submit it to our video contest.  We were unable to visit a peanut farm (which is why we need you), but we did visit a peanut factory.  Learn how peanuts make their journey from the truck to the store, see and hear the very loud specialized machines that shell and sort the peanuts, and find out why Civil War soldiers sang a song about peanuts! Come on, let's go trekkin'!  (Trouble viewing the YouTube video? Try Vimeo or direct link).

Peanuts are not actually nuts.  They are in the legume family along with beans and peas that grow in pods.  So that’s why they are called goober peas!  Second-graders, you’ve heard of George Washington Carver.  He encouraged southern farmers to grow peanuts as an alternative to cotton.  He invented over a hundred different products that could be made from peanuts like lotion, soap, shaving cream, shampoo, paper, glue, ink, and dyes (Source).  Contrary to popular belief, however, he did not invent peanut butter.  Third-graders, you know all about soils, but do you know what kind of soil is best for growing peanuts?  Peanuts grow best in sandy loam soil (Source).  Finally, did you know that two peanut farmers have been elected president of the United States?  Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter were both peanut farmers (Source). (AI-generated image with Adobe prompt: “peanut butter on bread, unshelled peanuts on the side, photo realistic”).


Here is a Google map of the Wakefield Peanut Company. Use the +/- buttons to zoom in or out.



This is a 360 view of the Wakefield Peanut Factory. Click and drag to look around


Social Studies

1.8 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to explain how individuals make economic choices to meet their basic needs by

d. describing goods and services produced in Virginia;


2.4 (2015) The student will describe how the contributions of selected individuals changed the lives of Americans, with emphasis on

d) George Washington Carver;


2.8 (2015) The student will describe natural resources (water, soil, wood, and coal), human resources (people at work), and capital resources (machines, tools, and buildings).


2.10 (2023) The student will describe the contributions and roles of changemakers in United States history, including but not limited to

a. Scholars and Inventors: Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Banneker, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Steve Jobs, Jonas Salk, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Mary Jackson;


2.13 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to understand basic economic principles by

a. identifying natural resources (water, soil, wood, and coal), human resources (people at work), and capital resources i.e. manmade things used in production (machines, tools, computers, and buildings);


VS.2 (2015) The student will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between physical geography and the lives of the native peoples, past and present, of Virginia by

b) locating and describing Virginia’s Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau;


VS.10 (2015) The student will demonstrate an understanding of Virginia government, geography, and economics by

b) describing the major products and industries important to Virginia’s economy;


VS.1 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the relationship between physical geography and the lives of Virginia’s peoples, past and present by

b. locating and describing the relative location and physical characteristics of Virginia's five geographic regions on a map;


VS.13 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to explain Virginia’s role in the global economy in the 21st Century by

a. examining major products and industries important to Virginia; and

b. examining the impact of the ideas, innovations and advancements of Virginians on a global market.


Science

1.4 (2018) The student will investigate and understand that plants have basic life needs and functional parts that allow them to survive. Key ideas include

a) plants need nutrients, air, water, light, and a place to grow;

b) structures of plants perform specific functions; and

c) plants can be classified based on a variety of characteristics.


2.8 (2018) The student will investigate and understand that plants are important natural resources. Key ideas include

a) the availability of plant products affects the development of a geographic area;


3.2 (2018) The student will investigate and understand that the direction and size of force affects the motion of an object. Key ideas include

a) multiple forces may act on an object;

b) the net force on an object determines how an object moves;

c) simple machines increase or change the direction of a force; and

d) simple and compound machines have many applications.


3.6 (2018) The student will investigate and understand that soil is important in ecosystems. Key ideas include

a) soil, with its different components, is important to organisms; and

b) soil provides support and nutrients necessary for plant growth.


4.8 (2018) The student will investigate and understand that Virginia has important natural resources. Key resources include

b) plants and animals;

d) forests, soil, and land.