|
Become a friend of the Klamath Bucket Brigade All donations are tax deductible |
|
This Website is Dedicated to Alvin Alexander Cheyne January 10, 1921 - June 17, 2005 |
Harvest
Underway
Josh Cox, 25, pulls rocks and mud from the field bulker as
potatoes are transferred to a truck for Woodman Farms in Tulelake on
Wednesday. The potato harvest lasts about 10 days, usually beginning the
last week in September.
Frost
helps effort to get Basin potatoes picked
By RYAN PFEIL
H&N Staff Writer
TULELAKE — The Staunton brothers of Staunton
Potatoes joined other
From soil to market, the harvesting process seems
almost mechanical, a well-rehearsed routine.
“[In] most of the fields this year, we got what we
called a killing frost,” said Sid Staunton, a third generation farmer.
“It gets cold enough that it just takes the green vigor right out of
the vine.”
In the absence of a freeze, farmers use chemicals to
kill aboveground vines. A frost is often preferred; it checks the box on
one of several steps. This year was a little more efficient than last
year. “When we wanted the potatoes to go ahead and finish, we didn’t
get any frost,” Ed Staunton said of previous harvests. “We had to
come in and use chemicals; now it’s gone the other way.”
There is a waiting period following the death of the
vines, usually lasting 18-21 days. It gives the skin on the potatoes a
chance to set. A mature skin feels tough, and has a slimmer chance of
rubbing off during harvesting.
T he past two years have been profitable for the
“In the potato industry, you very
seldom have two good years in a row,” he said. “To have three in a
row, well, I don’t know if it’s ever happened.”
Harvesting
During a harvest, harvesters slice through the dead
braids of vines and pull the crop out of the ground. In a sieve-like
action, the dirt granules are filtered out. The potatoes ride up a belt
into a large trailer truck that runs parallel to the harvester on the
fields. Most harvesters are able to dig three or four rows at a time.
Following harvest, trucks transport the crop to a
filtering station. Here, bruised and poor-quality potatoes are
discarded.
“We want to have as good a quality as we can,” Ed
Staunton said. “Quality is number one.”
Storage
The remaining potatoes are piled high like stairs in a
nearby warehouse. They are stored here from November until as late as
mid-July, kept moist and cool so they can be marketed year round.
“Once you control the supply a little bit more, you
start seeing profitability,” Ed Staunton said.
A truck drives slowly alongside a tractor pulling a field bulker that picks up the potatoes and transfers the harvest into the truck through a series of conveyer belts at a Woodman Farms potato field in Tulelake on Wednesday.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those
who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go
to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Source:
http://pioneer.olivesoftware.com/Daily/Skins/heraldandnews/
navigator.asp?skin=heraldandnews