Today is International Potato Day! Here are some fun facts you may not know about one of the world’s most beloved vegetables. You can learn more even about the humble potato by visiting our interactive slideshow at “Spud Smarts – About Potatoes.”
 How many tractors do you see in this photo? John is planting our russet potatoes in this field, and his tractor is clearly visible in the bottom of the photo. If you look very hard, you’ll see a second tractor in the top left corner. RJ is using the cultivator to work in the fertilizer Curtis spread earlier that day. Coordination and communication are key as our tractors tag team in the field to get the crops planted. You can visit the Farming Equipment category in my Common-Tater blog section to see many more photos and videos of our tractors in action.
Here’s a quick peek at what we’ve been up to for the past few weeks. It’s been all about getting our crops in the ground while the weather holds. This is our potato planter going all out on a beautiful spring day. You can visit “Long Weekend Plans” to see another video of our planting equipment.
Come along with me for a behind the scenes video depicting the saga of our seed potatoes! You’ll see the seed potatoes from the moment they start to arrive in tractor trailer until they are cut and ready to go to the field. You can visit “Little Seed Potatoes” to learn more about the purpose of our seed potato cutting line.
Getting our seed potatoes into the ground has many preparatory steps that you probably have never thought about. The photos above show our crew getting our seed potatoes ready for the potato planter:
Photo #1 Our seed potatoes are shipped to the farm by the tractor trailer load. You can see the box is tipped up to the very top to get every last seed potato out. Photo #2 Juan and Octavio are inside the shed unloading the seed potatoes from the tractor trailer into storage boxes. Seed potatoes look like regular potatoes. Photo #3 This is our full seed potato cutting line. Each seed potato will travel from the hopper into the cutter and then up the conveyor belt into the bulk truck. Photo #4 Each seed potato is cut into several pieces. The cut seed potatoes are rolling up the belt into the bulk truck that will go to the field to fill the planter. Photo #5 Darren and Juan are watching closely to make sure every seed potato is cut properly so we can grow as many plants as possible. Photo #6 This is a close up shot of the cut seed potatoes. Each seed potato will ideally yield one plant that will produce roughly 10 potatoes. Photo #7 And John’s off with the potato planter to get started planting. Photo #8 An aerial view of our potato planter. You can visit "Seed Potato Cutting Line" to see a drone video of our seed cutting line in action. |
The
|
© 2025 Thompson Potato Farm
.