You have to check out this video of what must be the world’s biggest potato planter in Blackfoot, Idaho. With the help of this giant on wheels, potato planting will never be the same.
Spudnik is his name, and potato planting on a massive scale is his game. And this machine is very good at it: Spudnik can plant 150 acres of potatoes a day. That’s a lot of spuds.
Advertisement
You’d think controlling something this huge would require a full crew of operators. Instead, just about anybody can drive the Spudnik after a little training. Directing this machine is easy because it has only three primary controls. One handles the hydraulics, one takes care of the fertilizer and one handles the steering, which is assisted by GPS.
Some fields are at a lower elevation than the roads that run through them. Lesser machines have to turn around and finish up the side of the field they are started on and then go to the other side. Spudnik instead makes a pivot like a prize-winning ballerina. Flip a switch to raise the machine higher off the ground. This process allows the process of planting long rows of potatoes to continue.
Advertisement
Watch the video and see for yourself how amazing Spudnik is.