As a general rule, few things in life come without risk. However, few occupations come with more built-in risk than a potato farmer. I would know. I’m the fourth generation of a farming family with its roots sunk deep in the soil of southeastern Idaho and the potato industry. I’ve watched for nearly 30 years as my grandfather, father, and most recently, my brother, have gambled with Mother Nature in the hopes of planting, raising, and harvesting a crop of famous Idaho Potatoes.

While not involved in the day-to-day operation, I help when needed and watch with a certain amount of awe as my family navigates the challenges—long-term droughts, tight markets, and stubborn diseases—of modern-day farming. In spite of the obstacles, I still take pleasure in my favorite time of year—potato harvest.

Each fall, harvest brings together an assortment of people and equipment. The people range from retirees to teenagers. The equipment ranges from massive diggers to sturdy pitchforks. Somehow, all the pieces come together into a cohesive engine that manages to harvest a crop in a matter of weeks.

Before potatoes can be harvested, the vines are killed with acid, allowing the potatoes’ skins to harden. An unripe potato, if harvested too early, will “skin,” damaging it and lessening its value. Once the potatoes are ripe, two pieces of equipment harvest the potatoes from the ground, a crossover and a digger.

Both are hitched to and pulled by tractors and share a certain amount of similarity in design and function. The crossover increases the amount of potatoes picked up by the digger. For example, we use a crossover that digs four rows of potatoes at a time.

The crossover is fashioned with a series of blades at the front, which are lowered into the ground and designed to go under the potato hills, lifting the potatoes onto a series of chains and carrying them towards a rear cross chain. This cross chain is attached to a short boom that sits to the side and dumps the potatoes between two rows of un-dug potatoes to be picked up by the digger.

The digger also has a series of blades that slip beneath two rows of un-dug potatoes that hold the potatoes dug by the crossover. Then, the potatoes are carried to a rear cross chain that connects with an elevator chain, moving the potatoes up to the boom. Using the boom, the digger operator fills a truck that drives alongside the tractor and digger.

The boom goes up and down, helping lower the drop height of the potatoes into the truck bed, reducing the risk of bruising. Following the crossover up and down the field, the digger can harvest six to twelve rows at a time, depending on the available equipment. Once the potatoes are loaded on trucks, they are taken out of the field and sent to storage.

Potato trucks themselves are massive. When I drive a truck, it feels like I’m driving a tank. Our fleet is made up of ten-wheeler International diesels that weigh 48,000 pounds. Each truck is equipped with four-wheel drive and a bed designed to accommodate the digger boom. A hinged door on the side gives the digger operator access to the bottom of the bed, and as the pile grows, the truck driver can close the door, increasing the total storage size. The loaded truck heads to our potato cellars.

The potato cellars are just short of a football field in length and roughly 50 feet wide. Using a piler, which consists of belts and chains, a full truck is quickly unloaded and potatoes are piled in sections that rise ¾ the way to the roof. Once potatoes are harvested and placed in storage, they must sit for two weeks, allowing the sugars to settle. Then, based on the market, potatoes are loaded out of the cellar and sent to the warehouse for selling and shipping.

The selling part of potatoes is the tricky part. I’ve learned that few people give much thought to where their baked potatoes or French fries come from. While I know that markets are ruled by supply and demand, I’ve also seen firsthand how my grandfather and father have worked to educate consumers about potatoes. Through their roles on the Idaho Potato Commission and in grower groups, I’ve watched as they’ve tried to remind consumers that potatoes are not evil and that they are actually good for you, despite Dr. Atkins and South Beach.

For me, potatoes are more than a vegetable, they are a way of life that is slowly disappearing. I grew up only miles from my grandparents, and I went to work with my family. I’m not sure how many people can say that anymore. In spite of what you may hear about agribusiness and large corporations growing all our food, I hope people will remember that there are still families like mine who plant a crop every spring, tend it during the summer, and harvest it in the fall.

(Potato farming photos courtesy Britt Raybould.)