Stacking millions of pounds of potatoes in a new cellar!

Welcome to Day 4 of our potato harvest! Today, I’m out in the field chopping potato vines right alongside a couple of coyotes, all while keeping a lookout for snakes. It’s never a dull moment out here! After finishing up in the field, we move on to a big project-relocating and setting up all of our potato cellar equipment in a brand-new cellar. With everything in place, we start the huge task of stacking millions of pounds of potatoes. There’s a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes, but it’s all coming together as we push through the harvest. Join me for an inside look at the day’s action and see what it takes to make this operation run smoothly!
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[@roepershof]

Hey! Can you please show your ventilation system? What kind of pipes do you use? Thanks 😊

[@daveklein2826]

Pipes with holes

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yes, I plan on giving a full cellar tour once we get to the cellar that is easy to access

[@310Fire11]

One video I would like to see is an interview with your grandpa on the history of potato farming and his experiences. Even better if the interview showing old equipment used in the past. I'm sure many others would enjoy that.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I actually have a video that I did with my grandpa last winter where I interviewed him about farming and how the farm used to be. It’s right here check it out. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIebqYhrZap4qNksi=G2LOZQ0q2vwXtBn2

[@HasanAKhan150]

Would like to see and know more about how the ventilation system and sorting shed work.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I’m going to try and make a video doing a potato cellar tour as far as a sorting shed we don’t sort our potatoes they all go to the same place and get made into potato flakes. I did ask if I could come in and film that but they told me no

[@copoaffl]

Hola, buen día, le comentaba a unas personas que me gustaba lo que hacia, cuando estaba en Hermiston, Or. trabajando para Bud Rich, ya que me tocaba estar en diferentes partes en el transcurso del año y como estaban asociados con un rancho, nos toco hacer varias cosas, hasta que me mandaron para el rancho, también les comente a esas personas, estuve en todas las áreas, tanto de la planta como en el rancho, nada mas no programe la Saiser ( la que escaneaba la patata, para separarla por tamaños), tampoco la plantadora de Patatas, y le dije nada mas no me toco estar en la oficina por que no se Ingles, ya que soy Auxiliar en Contabilidad, pero de ahí en adelante, creo que todo lo demás si, me gustan los videos, me hacen recordar cuando hacia todo eso, Saludos y buen día.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Thanks for sharing. Glad you enjoyed the videos.

[@boe4448]

RMF, I wonder how many feet each tater travels on conveyers before its processed. It would be interesting to see the processing plant the end of the line for the spud. Is there Yams or sweet potatoes grown in your area. Thanks for another quality video. Boe

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I did ask the processor if we could video their plant, they told me no. I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos.

[@1brlech]

I remember getting out of school to pick spuds in the late 60s and early 70s. we had two weeks of school to do this. Made a little money this was a big thing for our family. we lived in St Anthony, Idaho then.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yeah, they still do that here

[@ChristianKaasen]

Fascinating. I kove your point of view videos with all details and troubleshootings going on during a busy day and the spud pouring up and down like waterfalls - a fine analog.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Glad you enjoyed it thanks for watching.

[@Frank-mn9qi]

Do you grow only one variety

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yes, we grow Russet Rangers and that’s it. They have some of the best yields and they taste amazing.

[@DirectorFrisch]

why don't you build the cellars underground?

[@johntimmins5564]

my goodness that's some flat ground where ur at. Is there any forest or wooded area there.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yeah, our ground is pretty flat. There are not too many hills around. The only forests are up in the mountains down here on the valley floor we don’t get enough rain for trees to grow unless you water them.

[@ileenmcminn2062]

Looks like the moisture is about right now, no mud.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yeah it’s pretty good. It’s almost getting to be too dry now.

[@BrianDuval-bv3ql]

Thanks for all your hard work so I can enjoy potatoes 😊

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

My pleasure I’m glad you enjoyed it

[@DougFritzler-z5h]

I hate to see the price tag on all that new equipment

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

What’s worse seeing the price tag of all the labor when harvest takes too long because you have crappy equipment

[@Imadology18]

It looks good, guys keep going !!!!! How much potato’s strain you have? Do you have one or more? I see you guys only stoking potato’s. What is your plan with it? Next 3 or 4 years only stoking and after starting selling?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I’m glad you like it. We only have one variety of potato, the russet Ranger, and all of these potatoes that we are putting in storage will be taken out and used over the next year we have already sold them they’ve been contracted with the local processor.

[@KnightlyTruth]

how long do you keep them in the cellar before they are processed?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

It varies. It just depends on when the processor wants to take them. We have one cellar that they are currently taking potatoes out that we put in last year and they’re trying to get it cleaned out before we put new potatoes back in there.

[@davidjanis1997]

I bought a Russet today,was it one of yours?

[@edswartz92]

I remember working on the line picking dirt clods out of the potatoes back in the 80's, used to live on the Camas prairie. Remember the Craters of the Moon lava rocks also. Love watching your videos.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

That’s awesome. I’m glad you love the videos.

[@jetegtmeier71]

you seriously don't know where the lava rock came from when your sitting almost on top of Yellowstone the worlds LARGEST Supervalcano ???? not sure I'm going to buy that one

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

The lava didn’t come from that super volcano. The super volcano has never erupted, and it has never been underneath where we are.

[@koryleague8833]

I used to live in the twin falls area, I'm all familiar with the lava rocks. Always sucked I always got a desert deer permit. I'll watch about anything you post.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos. Thanks for watching.

[@essexfarmer9610]

Helpful Hint: In the winter, kit out all the new instore equipment power supplies / motors with switches that swap any 2 of the 3 live phases. It saves the rewiring and downtime of discovering that different store locations have different polarities. Wouldn't cost too much.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yeah, that would probably help if we did that the problem is will unplug something and plug it back into the same power source and somethings going backwards

[@spencerwendt4800]

[presses the spatula, sniffs the ait...] (que your fav Bob Duval voice) "God, I love the smell of hashbrowns in the morning!! "

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I like it

[@Planeiron]

I seen a JayPayDirt Vid where he was dozing around a Tater cellar...those taters look good, we use to grow about 50 sacs for a few families, Great Vid the ol lava Rock👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

[@russanderson6062]

Like the videos! Show all aspects of the farm from mechanical, sales, business, and operations. Notice a number of guys have what appears to be shears in their belts? Expected a knife or Leatherman instead. Why shears? Any women crew members besides mom? Women in Ag 👍👍🇺🇸

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Glad you like the videos. Those things that look like shears and everybody’s belts are actually channel lock pliers and yes, there’s quite a few women that work spud harvest we have multiple women, drivers and crew that pick dirt clods.

[@tomadelsberger6101]

I love watching the field work and dumping and storage Tell about your cows sometime All you have really said is you have a feed lot and do baling and chopping But for what beef or dairy?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

We don’t have any cows. I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos. The feedlot field is a field that we rent from the person who owns the feedlot and my uncle owns a dairy across the street but the only thing we do is grow hay for the dairy and all the manure.

[@spencerwendt4800]

love your stuff...more machines and fewer tawkin mugs! :)

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Well, I’m glad you’re loving it

[@310Fire11]

Can you explain how you save seed potatoes since you don't sort by size. You have some large potatoes this year and I'm assuming you don't want to use them unless you cut them in quarters. In your last video you said you average 450 sacks per acre and last year was even higher. At the same time you indicated you had smaller potatoes last year. Does this mean your yield is higher when the potatoes are smaller? Great videos.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

All right, I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos now let’s answer some questions so the seed that we use to grow these potatoes is not ours. We buy it from a seed grower because potatoes are grown in generations so we plant the fourth generation and we harvest the fifth generation so we can’t use our potatoes as seeds or else they will get rejected for quality. Last year our potatoes were a lot smaller but there was a ton of them each plant probably had 15 potatoes underneath it. They may have been smaller, but there was a lot more this year each plant only has between five and 10 underneath it and they’re bigger but they’re just isn’t as many so our yields were better last year because of that. I hope that clear things up.

[@IWANASLAPTHAT]

Can we have about 200 pictures of Brian Stelter AKA (Mr Potato head) former CNN in the cellars as he is king potato man he can take care of them for the year,lol please find the one that looks most like him and have a prize for all the staff would be a good bit of fun. Send the best potato pic to Joe Rogan.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I will have to look up who that is. I’ve never watched CNN once in my life.

[@steveavis7809]

one video I think you should try to make is the story of the potato from ground prep to being taken to factory and all that goes in growing the crop

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I will try to remember that for next year

[@PgP736]

❤ from Norway

[@tuberNunya]

I wouldn't mind seeing how you finish filling the cellar and get the door shut up.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I will see if I can make that happen

[@joseastete7151]

Do you use your own seed to plant the following year, or you buy seed from someone else? From Vancouver Island, CA.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

We buy all of our seed from a seed grower, because potatoes are actually grown in generations so we plant the fourth generation and we pull the fifth generation out of the ground. We cannot replant our potatoes. We pull out because the quality will go down and they will get rejected.

[@lukiluvssuga]

What was your chiller fix after you had the portable AC come in?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

The solution was, we took the potatoes out of the potato cellar shortly after that

[@Muffinrando]

See you Tater !

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

It’s been spud-tacular, but I gotta peel out!

[@Muffinrando]

@@RockyMountainFarmer “Eye” see what you did there.

[@alfredomarotta6604]

​@@RockyMountainFarmer😂😂👍👍🍻💪🗽

[@dirtthunder1638]

What are some of the companies that buy your potatoes? Do they go to grocery stores whole or are they made into chips and fries exc.? There is a Frito/Lays plant in Topeka KS not far from us. They get shipments of potatoes all day every day. They are just piled in the trailer and they tip the retailer up in the air and they drop on conveyer and go through a washer and in the plant.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

All of our potatoes will be made into potato flakes and then they get sold to companies. I know a lot of them get made into Pringles and I know some get made into instant mashed potatoes.

[@MrCrazycook8]

The lava fields in Idaho were created when the North American tectonic plate passed southwest over a mantle plume, a fixed “hotspot” in the Earth’s mantle

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I guess you learned something new every day thanks for the info

[@smitedude]

I got the same hotspot lava at my house near park city utah. Same hotspot is under Yellowstone now.

[@garymork1380]

I told you spudnick needs to take improve there electric design

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yeah, there’s definitely something funky going on

[@Farmerscott]

i would like to see the power cables and were all them go bet there is a lot of plugs

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I’m sure I can make that happen

[@FarmForward-i5g]

Do you think we should learn from him how to fly those clouds?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I’m sorry I’m trying to figure out what you’re asking. I think there was a typo in there somewhere.

[@martinagoetz3061]

Where in bingham is your farm.spread fert there for years.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

We are just south of Shelley

[@JoeWoolley-rf5fq]

Great video. Looks like a great big pile of money…… man does that look good. It’s great to see a reward for your hard work . Could you tell us what kind of potato’s they are and all the difference’s ??? Please thanks for sharing. 👍👍👍👍👍

[@bertbinsbergen7549]

Are the potatoes used for frenchfries?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

These will actually all be turned into potato, flake, and made into Pringles and instant mashed potatoes

[@shanebartlett498]

The flood of Noah placed the lova rock

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Haha right

[@MTRowCropper]

Hey just curious why don’t you put 16 rows together with the crossover digger before the harvester comes over?

[@Hezkezl]

Thanks for the videos, as always! Main thing I'm curious about is how the piler backs up when it needs to, is there some sort of conveyor that it can move back on to a certain point before one of those "waterfall" belts needs to be removed from the line? Obviously it can roll forward and back on its wheels, but does that whole line of machines move backwards out the door if the piler needs more room?

[@jholliday212]

He addresses and shows it much better in an earlier video, but the conveyor system connected to the piler has 2seperate belts. The bottom belt slowly moves back and under the top belt, as the piler reverses.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos. Yes there is an expandable conveyor that collapses as the pilar moves to give it some room to move around. I will make sure to show that in one of the upcoming videos.

[@1992swmiller]

what control system for your storages do you use? also do you condition your cellars prior to putting potatoes in?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

We just control temperature and humidity and if we have to hold them into the summer we get AC but the cellars are pretty cool right now because it gets down into the 40s at night

[@1992swmiller]

@@RockyMountainFarmer are you using a control panel such as IVI or BTU ventilation?

[@sgtmark8844]

Maybe measure or mark the location on the equipment so next year you can place in the same place without trial and error. Now maybe you already figured it out and you’re already on top of it. Nice to see where and how potatos are grown and harvested

[@daveklein2826]

Not necessary

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Glad you enjoyed it. We usually number our conveyors, but this year we ran out of time.

[@angus4202]

yay more spud content i grow potatoes for my veggie stand adderondak blue and red the flesh inside is purple and pink

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

That’s awesome. I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I know I have had some of the purple potatoes before and it’s crazy that the inside is purple.

[@angus4202]

@@RockyMountainFarmer think you could get footage of a camera going through the potato harvester

[@martinagoetz3061]

I,am Bonneville i.f.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Awesome

[@minitruckjosh2099]

Hello from twin falls thanks for the videos there great 👍

[@peterhepburn2056]

Any pictures or videos of any snakes 🐍

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I didn’t see any, but I know there was earlier in the year but I don’t have those videos. I will see if I can find them.

[@daveklein2826]

What a STUPID comment

[@christianosou6933]

Does your family eat some potatoes as well?

[@daveklein2826]

Stupid question

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yes, we eat lots of potatoes

[@codyleuthauser2964]

I like the filling of the cellars

[@borodimer]

Love the videos, keep them going!

[@stevetrowbridge7101]

what causes potatoes to bad the potatoes looked good a lot baker taters enjoy your videos be safe God bless.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

The main thing that causes potatoes to go bad is storing them incorrectly. I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos.

[@CrazyOregonBeaver]

There must be a lot of pressure on the bottom of the stack of potatoes. They obviously don't get turned into potato juice. 😂

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

No, they don’t get turned into potato juice. They might get a little bit of pressure bruise but that’s OK.

[@ericlarson8483]

Who do you contract your potatoes with?

[@daveklein2826]

Really none of your business

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

With Idaho supreme in Firth

[@ericlarson8483]

@@RockyMountainFarmer, thank you. Just curious is all. I don’t mean to pry. There are just a lot of big companies so it made me wonder is all. I happen to work for one and was just curious. Thank you.