Preparing for potato harvest!

[@erictownsend4236]

Sorry, I am a retired dairy farmer in NH, We went through our equipment at the END of the harvest season! Next season, all equipment has been power washed, oil coated, gone through, parts replaced, greased, ready to go when we pulled it out of the shed! Why do that maintenance 2 to 3 weeks before you need it? What if a part is not available?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

The main reason is after harvest we have hay and then about a month of hauling manure, and then winters here and our shop is too small for any of the equipment to fit in the shop so we can’t work on it till the next year

[@erictownsend4236]

@@RockyMountainFarmer OK, Thanks for the reply, Makes sense now! Hope you can at some point build a shop your equipment can fit in. Farming is tough! And money can only to the most important investment ! Wishing you well!

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yeah, we hope to build a new shop in the next couple years

[@justinmills8084]

Great question

[@mwnciboo]

I am former military and I cannot help it - I have to clean it and service it there and then - then put away. I am so sad I use a steam machine on EVERYTHING - Clean it - Inspect it - fix if necessary - re-grease - park up - remove battery ... Over Winter - turn it over every 3months with a fresh battery for an hour. We used to do this to maximise taxpayer value - why wouldn't I do the same with my own money? It does the work of 30 men - look after your machines they are mission critical

[@lindanelson8400]

Gosh, it looks like you have a mountain of work to accomplish in a very short time frame, then you buy more stuff at auction that's in need of work too. I hope everything goes smoothly and we will be seeing some more potato harvest videos. I'm ready to see that crazy machine in operation again. It's fascinating to see.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yeah, we still have a lot to do but I think we’ll be just fine getting it all done in time. There will definitely be lots of harvest videos coming soon.

[@KyleKinard-j8e]

Love the storm! Thanks again love the videos.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Glad you like them!

[@Machines85]

Thanks for your share

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

My pleasure

[@JoeWoolley-rf5fq]

Great video. Thanks for spending the time explaining all of it. . 👍👍👍👍👍

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it

[@FarmGearInnovators]

Grandpa keeping an eye on things made me smile-there’s always wisdom in having the old guard around to make sure everything's done right!

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I love having him around.

[@DougFritzler-z5h]

I never meet both granddads

[@lindanelson8400]

It's true, having your grandpa around is an absolutely irreplaceable asset. Grandpa's have a way of looking at things and seeing them in an entirely different light. The wisdom that only comes with age and experience. They're especially valuable when you're a rebellious teenager, and you've just gotten into a big argument with the parents. My grandpa had a way of telling me basically the same information as my parents, but because of wisdom and experiences raising five children of their own, I heard more clearly, realizing they've been through the same things with my parents at about the same ages. Sure do miss them, hard to believe they've been gone over 40 years now. Where did all the years go?

[@paulhammond7489]

Lot's of equipment preparation needed in such a short time. Was very interesting to see the speed that they can extract the potatoes from the cellar when they are in good condition, and especially when they get that avalanche going :) Fingers crossed they can get all the cellars emptied before you need to start to fill them. Looking forward to seeing the potato harvest and all the machines and people working in harmony. Really enjoying your channel :)

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

It is a lot of work. I’m glad you are enjoying it.

[@alfredomarotta6604]

Greetings from NE rural Ohio. Thanks for sharing, avid viewer always enjoy your videos.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Thanks for watching! I’m glad you enjoy it.

[@sgtmark8844]

I spent 25 years at the Portland water bureau installing and maintaining the water system Retired as a supervisor and they called me the director as I always was directing the crews. So I would say your granddad is the director on that job site making sure things are being done to his satisfaction.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Sounds about right

[@hootnanny6144]

I put 3 or 4 rounds of thread tape on the barbs of hose connector before sliding it together seems to work pretty good about sealing it up with clamps

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

That’s a good idea. We’ll have to do that next time.

[@tucobenedicto109]

For the new tractor, call may wes for a poly fifth wheel cover. Never have to grease it again. Potato farm + Dirt + grease = dirt covered grease! Nice video and good luck on harvest.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mr.lynnrosaasen8218]

You guys can be funny in a non-funny situation... takes a good attitude in everybody! !wet Blessings !

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

We try to be. All the problems will get solved weather your happy or mad so you might as well be happy

[@DADOFJRTX3]

I was born and raised in Greeley Colorado and had to look up the trucking company on the side of the semi...looks like you bought the one and only truck that the person owned😂😂

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Oh dang they must not have needed it anymore

[@bierscheet]

I like the joke that you just burried a leaking waterline :p

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

It will give us something to do another day.

[@donaldhagen1173]

One option would be to put the new water line in a different route so you didn,t have to worry about any power lines and all could be in excecpt for hooking up the ends

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yeah we will probably do that one day. We would need to get a locator to try and not hit them.

[@davidwpinkston4226]

and here i thought sugar beet harvest was complicated. hope there is a profit at the end of the day.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yep potato harvest is pretty complicated. They are usually pretty profitable as long as you can keep your cost down in your contracts up.

[@LynnKorte-ve4qf]

Lots of maintenance for the amount of your production for sure,during harvesting you have to keep going to beat the weather issues ,no time for screwing around fixing equipment then

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yes we have to make sure everything is fixed before we start. No time for downtime.

[@generalmelchett9934]

Potato avalanche into chipper into fryer into mouth🤤🤤🤤🤤

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Sounds great

[@maineman11]

I believe the sidewall on that tire is gone due to the friction of rubbing against the other tire. Maybe find a size tire where there is an inch gap on each edge and in the center.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

That could very well be true

[@littlegreenacres]

Great video! I learned a lot, but I wonder if there’s an easier way to do this.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Glad you enjoyed it. There’s always an easier way I just might not know that way.

[@marvdevries5304]

Use a brass coupler. PVC will split. My advice from experience.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

We would if we had one. Good advice

[@leerossi7940]

lol i’ve done the same thing bought a pieces of equipment online and go pick it up and it’s like OMG what day did I do?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yeah, for some reason, the pictures always make it look way better

[@leerossi7940]

@@RockyMountainFarmer exactly

[@Arham7cheema]

Your farm now full of equipment like as factory does these chains were replaced by new or old whimsical video to enjoy

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@PgP736]

❤ from Norway

[@johnbuchholz313]

Interesting video and good explanations on the equipment. Couple of questions. The potatoes that are being hauled out, what products will they go into? Maybe I miss that explanation. The new 30 ft potato conveyors, can you purchase them for $200 per foot or are they more than that? Looks like you have a good supply of labor there. Thanks for taking us along.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Glad you enjoyed the video all these potatoes will be made into potato flakes and made into products. Pringles the conveyors are a little more than 25,000 apiece.

[@errolsigue4419]

Man I hope you don't have rotten potatoes this year

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

We have a better contract that should prevent that. So hopefully we don’t

[@wohliq1]

what are the potatoes used for after you sell them? lovely video

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

These will all be made into potato flakes that will then get turned into things like Pringles or instant potatoes, and things like that

[@copoaffl]

También me toco darle mantenimiento a la Digger, en lo único que me ayudaban era en poner las bandas, en todo lo demás , lo hacia solo, Saludos y buen día.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

It’s definitely a lot of work to maintain

[@copoaffl]

Ahora imagínate como me siento, lo poco que aprendí cuando estaba en Hermiston Or. trabajando para Bud Rich Patatoes Ing. regresare a México, pensando que lo poco que aprendí allá me serviría de mucho, pero para mi suerte, de nada me sirve, aparte que no me creen, buen día y a darle con todo.

[@StoneWolf2077]

I love to see Grandpa, but we're is there, dad?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

He’s usually talking care of the business side.

[@rupetto1959]

the water and electrical lines should be protected by a corrugating pipe.. my 2 cents 🙂

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Well, it was put in about 60 years ago

[@RobertJochim]

Abandon the existing water line and run a new one.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

We will someday

[@dustincummins3951]

I happen to stumble on your channel. Im from Oregon. Im also a truck driver. I go through idaho a lot. Ive seen a lot of farmers haresting already. Do you guys ever sell to the General public? I know some places do in the idaho area. Just curious!

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

We don’t because all of ours are contracted to go into process to make potato flakes, but I’m glad you found the channel. Hopefully you enjoy it.

[@nickschuster7618]

if you keep blowing bags check your leveling valves. overinflated bags due to shitty leveling valves either not being set right or leaking will cause excessive bag wear/blow outs. simple enough i just use a can of chewing tobacco. if the can will fit between the bump stop and the frame and the valve isnt purging your good. the valves usually have the top bolt is on a slide so loosen them up slightly so its still tough to adjust but use the can and slight movements on the valve to adjust your ride height. also idk what your running for leveling valves ie one per axle etc but a double leveling valve set up is a nightmare to adjust right. i work at a diesel shop in IA and we see a ton of farm trucks with poorly adjusted valves/leaking valve with the same issue. edit for clarification- chewing can on its long end between the frame and bump stop. typically the actual spec is around 3in

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

That’s good advice. The problem with us is we are going off of huge embankments that keep pulling the bags apart and misalign them because we are taking these trucks off road so we are just going to put a normal suspension on it.

[@justinmills8084]

I am curious about if the tires you put on don't have air pressure 🤔

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I’m pretty sure they have air pressure

[@raymorse7123]

You should already had that stuff done long before now

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

We are always so busy that there isn’t always time

[@DIGGER19860]

I think the side tread was holding dirt and the dirt carved that groove in the steel. i dont think rubber can wear out steel. i bet it was basically the sand in the dirt stuck to the rubber sand papered it off. good stuff dude!!! I now think i like this channel more then that mfer from minnesota. lol

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

You’re absolutely right just sanded it down. I’m glad you’re enjoying the channel. That’s a big compliment that you think my channel is better than MF. Thanks.

[@brian7327]

Why not get you big roll of PEX water line shove through existing water lines might loose a small bit of volume but could increase pressure then its a no dig solution w3 do it all the time

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yeah, if that would work, that would be a pretty good fix

[@brian7327]

@@RockyMountainFarmer worth a shot

[@shanebell9589]

What length potato bodies do you run/ prefer?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

The size doesn’t matter to us because they all go to process but we usually have huge potatoes.

[@shanebell9589]

@@RockyMountainFarmer sorry, bulk bodies on trucks haha 20,22,24’

[@johnbucklerfarms]

How Many Brothers Are There?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Me and Christopher are brothers and Josh is our brother in law.

[@lescarolyn]

Where are the potatoes going that you haul out of the cellar?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

They go to the processor and get made into potato flakes and get made into things like Pringles.

[@justinbagwell2602]

are the cellars dirt floors? if so why are you worried about the dirt coming off the potatoes?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

They are dirt floors but it starts to build up in the middle and it needs to be flat.

[@justinbagwell2602]

@@RockyMountainFarmer oh ok thank you very much. Love the videos very interesting watching day to day on the farm.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I’m glad you’re enjoying it

[@jorgemrivera5973]

Why under those powerlines?

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I’m not sure it was put in probably 60 years ago.

[@motel581]

If you don’t mind, could you expand in a future video who is ‘they’ in the context of ‘they have to get the potatoes out’? Also, who else works/operates your farm with you? Seems to be all family partners, with some employees for water and maintenance? I the first ‘they’ is a processing facility. Could you just explain in polite detail how your potato contracts work? Curious why they’d let the potatoes sit right up until harvest, if some are lost to spoil. I’d imagine you, the farmers, would rather get the potatoes out earlier to avoid damage to your harvest & facilities? Sorry for all the questions

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

So yes they I am referring to is the processing plant because they decide when the potatoes get hauled. In the reason they are so late is because last year there was a whole bunch of potatoes that got rejected from the fresh sheds so they went to the processing plants so they were flooded with potatoes, so the potatoes they had contracted just sat in storage While they were getting all these cheap fresh potatoes on our farm, there is my parents my grandpa, me and my brother, my brother-in-law and then we have two hired full-time guys and all of our pipe movers from Mexico and that’s it. We signed potato contracts in the spring based on the market price, and before we plant they do have a date that they are supposed to have them out by this year. They are over that date but we are working with them.

[@motel581]

@@RockyMountainFarmer thank you very much! They’re building a huge grain facility next to Pepperidge Farms here in Richmond, which has had me to wondering how large grain/potato contracts work, how much power the farmer has to sell their stuff when they want to vs how much they have to cater to the plants needs. Have a good fall!

[@KarmaShaw-dc1hd]

You don't use Y rollers for shaking the dirt out

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Not anymore we had some on our old harvester, but this one has an arm that moves and shakes hydraulically and it works way better because when it gets loaded up, you can just turn the hydraulics up and it’ll shake all the dirt out.

[@DrRacer78]

31:50 Potato-lanche.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I like it

[@johnbucklerfarms]

Hire a Vacuum Truck around those Utilities

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

That probably would be a good idea

[@Boondocker99]

Is this last years potatoes?

[@Boondocker99]

I would love to come over for a tour

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

Yes, these are last year’s potatoes

[@maineman11]

Ah, @ 15:01 ........ Also, the Maine way we do that. Nice, my people.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

It works pretty good

[@jetegtmeier71]

hold on a minute, you have a known high voltage splice in the hole, Under water, and he's going in with only some farm grade rubber boots ??????? I truly hope you shut the power off first.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I’m not sure if they did before digging.

[@TymonMasa]

A po co w tej łeciarce az tyle opon 4 pojedyncze szerokie spokojnie by wystarczyły tak jak u Grimme

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

It’s so it forms around the row

[@eddiereichel9354]

Those blue fittings from Home Depot are TERRIBLE. I have tried to use them a few different times and they never seal up.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

I would have to agree with you

[@eddiereichel9354]

@@RockyMountainFarmer I think its about 3 times I have tried them and I mean maybe if you heat the pipe or something but that is not always possible. It was about a month ago I used one and even with double clamps it still would not stop leaking.

[@lepeotmit]

OMG! at 24:05 you can see the big difference between a german (mostly all european) and an american brand! While american companies usually flood everything with color, you won't see color in german engines where you have any type of connection and usually all screws and bolts unpainted! It is not just for the look. It is for the easier accessbility in case of exchange.

[@RockyMountainFarmer]

True