Food For Millions, 1950s

[Music] this is the story of the potato a universal food for the millions and the Millionaires and how it is grown in our Great West on thousands of Acres of fertile well- tended soil this fast operator is cutting seedlings for planting seedlings which have just been through a disinfecting path to destroy any lurking organisms and which are on their way to the planter the time lapse between cutting the seed and planting should be brief one man dumps the seedlings while another fills the boxes with fertilizer because this machine plants the potatoes drops fertilizer and covers both with soil all in one operation potatoes take constant attention and must be cultivated frequently and over and under spraying like this won't miss a bug here are the farmer has contrived an ingenious duster with a canvas cover which protects the dusting even in a wind Harvest time is a busy time there's a minimum of bruising as the Digger reaches underneath the potatoes drawing them forth cushioned by their own Vines and soil an injured potato is a ruined potato getting it out of the soil unharmed is important and a variety of machines have been designed for this all important job and here they are potatoes ready to be gathered an important food [Music] crop in many places they are retrieved by hand but on other Farms which have large acreage of potatoes special machines like this two row diggers save time and effort this machine carries the potatoes up a belt and shakes out the dirt at the same time these men riding on the back remove the residue of small clouds and Vines the potatoes continue on an elevator and drop into a truck keeping Pace [Music] alongside now comes the job of getting them ready for the market [Music] this trough built in the floor of the storage plant floats the potatoes to be grated and washes them at the same [Music] time the watchful eyes of these graders are extra quick to detect for removal the undersized and below grade potatoes note the rubber pads to offset the length of the fall and protect the potatoes sometimes potatoes dug in the morning are on their way to Market in Express refrigerator cars before dark M boy are those Western potatoes worth waiting for