Harvest is the most exciting (and undoubtedly busiest) time of year for potato growers. When the time comes, you’ll want to be prepared with quality, reliable equipment that will take good care of the fruits of your labors. Never fear; our buyers’ guide is here to help you find the perfect equipment to pull off another successful harvest.
Safe-T-Pull Manufacturing Inc.
(701) 284-6100
Crop Shuttle
The Crop Shuttle is the largest, fastest and most versatile crop cart on the market. It is fully customizable, providing up to a 46-ton capacity and discharge speeds of up to 25 tons per minute. The Crop Shuttle is versatile enough to be used in multiple crops including as sugarbeets, potatoes, carrots, onions, red beets, cucumbers and even corn silage.
The Crop Shuttle’s innovative, patented design eliminates the need for a PTO to power the hydraulics. It has minimal moving parts and changing angles, meaning less buildup of debris while using less hydraulic power. The hopper rises into the air while unloading, creating the incline needed without a separate conveyor slowing your discharge and damaging crops.
The Crop Shuttle is fully customizable to meet individual growers’ needs, and it features multiple cleaning bed options that allow operators to remove tare and leave dirt in the field.
Safe-T-Pull Pro
PIC: Safe-T-Pull Pro
The Safe-T-Pull system consists of a truck hitch that fastens to a truck’s existing tow hook mounts, providing a centralized loop to pull from, and a hydraulically operated tow bar that mounts to the drawbar of a tractor, forage harvester, payloader or bulldozer.
This system saves time and money, and gives the added safety of eliminating dangerous ropes, chains and cables. The system is strategically designed to pull from both frame rails, reducing the risk of damage. The entire system is completely operable from the comfort of the cab; there’s no need to get out to hook up. Drivers can even unhook on the go.
Minimize downtime this harvest, increase productivity and save money all while pulling safer.
Kerian Machines, Inc.
(701) 352-0480
Kerian Sizer
The Kerian Sizer uses a single set of rotating rollers that gradually separate as they gently carry the potatoes forward. The potatoes are thus sized accurately and consistently by diameter. The roller spacing is set by a pair of precisely machined spiral drives with increasing pitch along the length of the sizer.
The extreme accuracy of the roller spacing allows precise separation of both long and round potatoes by minimum diameter, with quick adjustment possible by sliding a divider separating sizes. The Kerian Sizer comes in 13 standard models, offering growers maximum value and a machine perfectly suited to their capacity and number of sizes.
Tomra Food
+32 16 396 396
Tomra 5A Sorter
The Tomra 5A sorting machine brings to the table more than 98 percent removal rate of foreign objects, quality inspection and peel quality control. Running the highest capacities in the industry, this process potato sorter significantly increases the level of food safety and yield.
The Tomra 5A uses top and bottom sensor banks to view each individual object in flight using a combination of pulsed LED, camera and near-infrared to perform targeted spectroscopy with 1-millimeter precision. The proven and dependable technology guarantees a superior defect detection and quality control. The sorter can be complemented by the peel control module measuring the peel quality and calculating the peeler’s optimal steam time. This combination delivers a better and more stable detection of defects and peel quality. Real-time adjustments to the sorter’s and peeler’s settings result in faster, more accurate reactions to changes, improving the yield and quality of the final product.
Mayo Mfg.
(208) 520-7049
Mayo Surge Hopper Unloader
The Mayo Surge Hopper Unloader provides a gentle, bruise-free unloading and the most consistent, even flow to the elimination equipment. The 72-inch-wide live-bottom discharge belt means smooth operation and no dirt buildup. Proximity sensors automatically position the telescoping boom for soft handling. Wide, cleated, intake belts make it a great choice for unloading field trucks quickly and gently and improving your harvest operation.
Tristeel Manufacturing Co.
(800) 279-2689
Logan Bin Piler
Logan’s newest Bin Piler is designed for years of excellent performance in three models: 36, 42 and 48 inches. The design of the machine was created with the flexibility to transload and storage pile, with a usable boom of 53 feet. Also available is the option of a two-conveyor boom design or a continuous single-belt bridge boom design.
A feature-rich hydraulic system and new two-way remote-control belly pack assist in troubleshooting problems, provide sensor feedback, and adjust system speed with load sense using proportional valves for precise boom control and with manual control backup switches.
The mainframe of the machine is robust with large traction tires, dual tow/no-tow gearboxes that completely disengage for safe towing. Some new features include a hydraulic traveling weight box for optimal towing, and extra-deep troughing of the boom conveyors provide large volume capability and limited product skinning on conveyor sidewalls.
Options also include hydraulic hitch, all VFD motor controls, boom end tip down, auto-speed control, and pup hanger with hydraulic adjust.
Advanced Farm Equipment, LLC
(877) 287-5711
72-inch Air-head Harvester
AFE’s computer-automated Lenco airhead now separates rocks from potatoes with maximum possible efficiency regardless of field conditions, and with less attention from the harvester operator. On-board sensors gather and relay critical data to the harvester’s central computer, and airhead speed is adjusted constantly to maximize separation and minimize bruise. Your operator can now focus on other critical tasks, like loading potatoes into a moving truck.
U.S. and Canadian potato farmers have reported 20 percent greater capacity with 0 to 2 percent bruise in very rocky conditions from the new 72- and 65-inch automated airhead harvesters. Advanced computer controls, remote programming updates, and IoT connection installed on the world’s most durable frames mean a high-capacity Lenco harvester will operate at peak efficiency for decades.
Apollo Tracked Windrower
U.S. and Canadian potato farmers asked AFE to design and build a windrower that can keep up with the company’s high-capacity automated airhead harvester. The Apollo six- and eight-row windrowers with tracks and Soil Savers are the answer to that request.
Lenco Soil Savers are designed to dig 30 percent less soil and rocks than a conventional windrower, allowing for cleaner potatoes at greater ground speeds. Mid-mounted steerable tracks reduce hitch weight dramatically, and the track system floats better than tires in any soil condition. Apollo windrowers can discharge potatoes into one or two rows, and to the left or right side with the touch of a button.
In recent field trials with Michigan potato farmers, a single Apollo six-row windrower ran circles around two of the farm’s conventional windrowers in wet, rocky conditions, and discharged the cleanest potatoes they have ever seen from a windrower.
Lockwood Mfg.
(800) 247-7335
VACS Mobile
The VACS Mobile has been dubbed the “ultimate mobile cleaning machine” since its debut in 2018. Its ability to separate rock, dirt and other trash is unmatched. It is self-powered and, being mounted on a semi-trailer, is extremely mobile.
The VACS Mobile’s Quick-Change table technology allows a grower to pick and/or change out cleaning tables based on different field, storage and crop conditions. There are four table options to choose from, and the process to change tables is very easy in comparison to other cleaning machines. Efficiency is crucial during harvest, and the VACS Mobile offers just that and then some.
GOW Group, Inc.
(800) 499-4711
GOW Bulk Box
The GOW Bulk Box is built with the grower in mind. Its one-of-a-kind horizontal side gate allows for unmatched in-field performance for loading visibility and harvester location to the loading box. Its round shape design allows for unparalleled load capacity, along with a belt-over-chain unloading system for no-slip working conditions. The electric drive allows for constant unloading of product at each user’s preferred speed. All boxes come with electric tarps for load transport covering.
GOW Bulk Boxes are available in 360-, 390- and 420-hundredweight capacities.
Tong USA
(231) 924-5647
(833) 844-8664
Tong Dirt Eliminators
Tong Engineering is a worldwide leader in effective potato and vegetable dirt elimination equipment. Tong has recently taken the success of its coil cleaning unit to the next level with new advancements for even greater performance. Incorporating a heavy-duty, scissor-action shaft design, the deformable PU coil shafts of the coil unit feature an easy-maintenance coupling and are fully adjustable to suit a wide range of sizing requirements. With a direct-drive motor on every shaft, the coil cleaning and sizing unit is not only easy to maintain but also ensures maximum energy efficiency during operation.
One of the key advancements with the new super-speed self-cleaning function is that it removes the need for manual cleaning of coil shafts. This means not only a much safer shaft-cleaning technique, but also significantly reduces downtime with an automatic self-cleaning process that is performed in a matter of seconds. When controlled by Tong’s intelligent Auto-Touch HMI touchscreen controls, the super-speed cleaning process can also be scheduled to automatically commence at pre-determined intervals.
The next-generation coil cleaner from Tong can be built to suit all throughput and sizing requirements, available in four-, six- and eight-row configurations as standard, and is popularly combined with Tong’s market leading EasyClean dirt eliminator, which is world-renowned for the gentlest handling and unrivaled cleaning results across a variety of crop types, in all soil conditions.
Gellert Company
888-GELLERT
Miedema Box Fillers
Gellert offers bulk and box storage solutions for harvest. For box storages, Miedema Box Fillers ensure that your potatoes or onions are treated carefully. Pre-programmed, fully automatic filling guarantees the best possible box filling with any size by using a wide filling belt and filling the box in layers. Three different options give you choices that others don’t.
Miedema Storage Loaders
Miedema storage loaders are fully automated for remote operation. They are available in four different lengths: 43, 53, 62 and 72 feet. Thanks to theie sturdy construction, tall piles are no problem for Miedema storage loaders.