b"A Foldable PlanterSpudnik has developed a 12-row machine which can fold up to asix-row base, enabling it to be moved from field to field easier.BY: MARK HALSALLIT WAS AN innovative idea that potato farming equipment manufacturer Spudnik came up with about eight years ago: Devise a 12-row po- A Spudnik 8312tato planter which, unlike other 12-row machines12-row machine planting potatoes in in the marketplace, was capable of folding itselfPresque Isle, Maine in upthereby making it much easier for growersMay 2020. PHOTOS: JOSH PARKINSON, to transport it from field to field.JOSHUA JAMES The first prototype of this new foldable,PHOTOGRAPHY.12-row planter was field-tested in 2013, and according to Evan Steel, director of engineer-ing for Spudnik, the machine just wasnt up to snuff. That concept didn't work, he says. That, however, didnt prevent the Spudnik R&D team from coming up with a better design for a better planting machine which was put to the test in the potato fields of Idaho in 2018. This time, the planter passed with flying colours.We've been doing really well with prototypes lately where they've really just gone to the field and there hasn't been a lot of issues, which is good because it helps us get them out into the market, says Steel. This program was no exception to that. It went to the field and it really ran well. As wide as these machines are, it's pretty Spudniks new 8312 potato planter, as itshard for a solid 12-row to really follow any contour called, rolled off the assembly line shortly afterof the ground. But because the rows in the 8312 that, and in 2019 the first machines were sold toare broken up into those different sections, it can potato farmers in Manitoba, Idaho, Washingtonactually follow contour really well, he says.and Maine. We've developed the sensing technology There are a handful of other 12-row plantersneeded to be able to do depth control across the out there that are built by our competitors, andwhole planter. So that's one thing that does make there's even some farmers who have built theirus uniquethe ability that we have to controla lot of times can come through reducing labour own, says Steel. As far as we know, this is thethe depth, especially across a machine this wide,costs and tractor costs, says Steel. If we can first 12-row that folds up like this. and really follow contour, Steel adds. develop a machine where a farm can get rid of The 8312 planter has a six-row base with twoWhen your seed depth is more consistent,one tractor or have one less operator that they three-row wings on either side that can swingthen your plant stand is more uniform in theneed to find, then it improves what our customers up when required. This allows it to more easilyspring. are doing.traverse roads and bridges and conform to sizeSteel points out the 8312 has an extra-largeJustin Kehler and the Spudnik team at genAG restrictions while travelling from field to field.seed tank, which saves growers time while theyreequipment dealers in Manitoba sold the first 8312 The planters flexibility also provides someout planting in the field because it doesnt have tosold in Canada to a Manitoban farmer last year. additional advantages in the field. By being ablebe filled as often. Kehler believes the new Spudnik planter is a sure to fold up one or two wings, growers can haveHe adds one big advantage for farmers usingbet to catch on with potato farmers who want to an easier job navigating around power polesa 12-row planter like the 8312 is it cuts down onget their planting done faster.and irrigation equipment. Steel maintains thisthe amount of equipmentor peoplethatsThe big thing with a 12-row planter is the folding feature also means the 8312 is capablerequired to plant their potatoes.acres it can do per day. Its a very short window to of seeding potatoes more evenly than standardOur customers are always looking to improveplant potatoes, and the tighter you can get that 12-row planters. the efficiency of what they're doing. That efficiencywindow, the better, he says. 44 SPUDSMART.COM FALL 2020"