From Down Under To The Table

 Did someone say Baked Potato? That’s right we have moved on to harvesting potatoes.  And let me tell you, when harvesting potatoes there is a lot that goes into getting it from the ground to the table. Being part of this has given me a whole new perspective of how we get potatoes to the store and from there to your home. 

Did you know that Idaho is the largest producer of potatoes. The potatoes are planted in early April, and six months later in mid September they are ready to harvest.  But what you don’t know is what it takes to harvest these potatoes. 

Here is some information that you probably didn’t know. Hell I didn’t. 

When digging up the potatoes you actually can only dig them at certain temperatures. That`s right,you can’t dig them if it's to hot or to cold. If you do they will shatter from the inside. By shatter, I mean they will get veins inside and begin to rot.  So when it comes time to dig up the potatoes you must pay attention to the temperature of the ground that they are in and what it is above ground.  Also if you let one bad potato get into the cellar, you can ruin the entire lot.Crazy to think that one potato can cause that to happen. 

So when you harvest you need 2 different machines. The one machine is called a crossover and there are two of those on the field. Then you have the Combine (boom) that picks up the potatoes and puts them into the truck.

Let's start with the crossover, it's digging, in this case, four rows of potatoes. Blades placed on the bottom go under the potato rows, lifting the potatoes out of the ground onto a series of chains. Then the potatoes are carried back and dumped on a cross chain.The cross chain than carries those four rows of potatoes, to a boom that sits next to the ground, dumping them between two potato rows. We have two of these going at the same time. So that’s about eight rows picked up.

 

Now to the Combine (boom), it is basically set up the same way as the crossovers and it's picking up the 8 rows the crossover picked up, plus an additional four rows. So basically 12 rows are being picked up and put into the back of the truck. To make sure that they don’t bruise the potatoes, the boom part of the combine goes into your truck after putting the side gate down so that it can lower the boom into the bed of the truck.

From there we take the potatoes to the cellar, which is this big metal building. That can store up to 5 million pounds of potatoes. They keep it at about 42 degrees Fahrenheit, by means of air conditioning to make sure they stay fresh.  Potatoes can be stored their for nearly a year.

(Inside the Potato Cellar)

(Inside the Potato Cellar)

(Inside the Potato Cellar)

(The Machine that brings the Potatoes into the Cellar)

(Emptying my load of potatoes, the building in the back of the picture is the outside of the cellar)

(Almost Empty)

(with a full load of Potatoes)

Until next time...

Ready! Set! Go!

Day 1

 After drive 11 hrs and arriving at 1:30 am, we quickly unpacked and went straight to bed. Don't worry I will explain where we are calling home for the next 8 weeks.Lucky enough we did not have to be in until 9 am. Once we got to the shop, we met Scotty who runs the shop. We filled out the paper work and were given our trucks.  And by trucks I mean 10-Wheelers.  

(My First Truck)

(Cindi's Truck)

So they set us up with drivers to train us. To show us the ropes and get a better understanding of the truck and how to load the sugar beets and unload the Sugar beets. Cindi seemed to pick up the truck pretty fast and soon was able to ride by herself. That was pretty awesome.

Me on the other hand, could not seem to get the hang of the shifter on the truck. Usually once someone teaches me and I practice couple of times I get it. It would seem like I was getting it and then sometimes I was not getting it. I needed more practice and unfortunately we don't have the time for them to teach me. Fortunately they do have Automatic 10-Wheelers. It was in the shop for maintenance.  Which leads to day two.

Day 2

Unfortunately the truck was not ready, it was suppose to be ready by Noon. But it was not. So instead of going back to the place we are staying, I was able to get in the truck with Cindi and watch her drive and see how she does it. It was a good experience to see how she went about doing it. 

   (Cindi Driving Her truck)

Day 3

It seem that the truck was not ready yet again. So I spent the next two  hours with her. I even took over the wheel to back up the truck to unload the beets. An as we where turning on the street to head back to get another load, Tim the owner of the farmer came and pick me up. Let me tell you. I was scared shitless. The reason why, was due to having to drive it through town. Driving to unload and load was not as scary has driving through town. Even if was only a short way.

So I get the truck and drive back to the field and pick up my first load of sugar beets by myself. I was nervous and scared. But I could hear my dad in the back of my mind say "Brittney why are you nervous. You got this." and then I could hear my mom say " You can do this Brittney." So I put my big girl pants on and went for it. Let me tell you, really have to be able to multi-task. You have to make sure the that you are paying attention to the guy working the Pin and make sure that you maintain the same speed. 

So Today was the first official day I was in the truck by myself. And it went great.  

(My Second Truck)

(Going to drop off a load of sugar beets)

(Me heading to pick up a load.)

Can't wait to see want the next couple of days bring. From want I heard we are switching to Potatoes. 

I guess we will see!

On The Road Again

(Cindi and Me)

As the song from Wille Nelson goes, On the road again, Goin' places that I've never been. Thats right this girl is on the road again. Where to to one might ask? Well this adventure is taking me and my friend Cindi (who I will explain later on who she is) to Rupert,Idaho. One would ask why there? Well durning these time we are in, you take any opportunity given to make some extra money. 

(The Truck Full of all of our Belonging)

So what's the job we will be doing? The job that we will be driving Ten wheelers picking up beets and Potatoes under the Boom (for Potatoes) and Pin for Beets). We will be working for 6 days and have Sundays off.  Unless we can't work due to weather. This is a new experience for not only me, but for Cindi as well.  Can’t wait to see want this experience will bring me. We will be in Idaho for about 8 weeks.  Did I forget to mention that the 10 wheeler is going to a stick shift. Thanks dad for teaching me.  They say once you drove manual its sticks with you. You might stall it once or twice, but it comes with not doing if after awhile.

(The Trucks we will be driving)

Some Info on what city we are in, We are in Rupert,ID. It’s a small town where last update population was 5,769. Any big store is about hour/two hours away. This It give you the small town feels. I’m excited to explore and see what this city has to offer.  I’ve always what to see what small town USA was like. Did I forget to mention the we are Mountain Standard Time. Thats right we are an hour ahead.  

I’ll be updating my experience and adventures on here. 

Here is to a new crazy adventure for the next 6 to 8 Weeks.