Article as it appeared in the May 2004 issue of "Potato Grower" magazine.
FANTASTIC DEVELOPMENT
Unselfishness of Companies Will Give Growers Better Sorters. Milestone, Harriston form joint-venture agreement.
By Gary Rawlings, Editor
The first test run of the new Milestone/Harriston joint venture project to give growers sorter options they've always wanted performed perfectly in Grace, ID, seed-sorting operations Wednesday, April 7.
Keith (KC) Jorgensen, of Jorgensen Farms, a partner/owner and seed-production manager, was elated at how the sorter worked.
Milestone and Harriston have taken the best of each other's sizer-eliminator sorters and independently building retrofitted models to eliminate clods and rocks.
Danny Mitchell, Milestone general manager, says that after years of trying to refine its sorter/eliminator, they went to Harriston of Minto, ND, with a joint-venture exchange agreement. Harriston's Joel Midgarden, sales manager, and Dexter Sitzer, general manager of TerraMarc Industries, which owns Harriston, agreed to exchange each company's patented sorting devices.
SEPARATES UNDERSIZE
Milestone's machine separates all clods and rocks from the undersize potatoes by means of the Harriston Roller. The technology is simple: the potatoes are run over the large roller. The heavier clods and rocks are dropped into the eliminator and the one-drop seed comes over the top and out the opposite side. The rest of the seed potatoes still go across the top of the finger rollers and hand-sorting table.
"We're going to build this over here and they'll take our parts and build back there. The agreement is we're buying each others' parts." Mitchell explained.
In just the second day of operations, Jorgensen had given it very thorough tests. He ran painted rocks and truckloads of soil/culls coming off the system back through the sorter.
Jorgensen said he knew that nothing (in the area) could beat the Harriston's Clodhopper. Now he says nothing can beat this Milestone sorter.
He said it would not only reduce his work force but also cut his moving time from farm to farm by having several sorting systems built into the same machine.
"This by far is the better for us," Jorgensen said. "It is heaven sent." The "rock test" found Jorgensen throwing 10-12 painted rocks on the 84" Milestone conveyor and running them through the roller-sorting device. He was amazed with the near-perfect accuracy of the Clodhopper rock/clod eliminator to pick out the rocks.
RELIEVE STRESS
This will not only relieve him of a great amount of "seed grower stress" but save dollars. He figures it will pay for itself in one season's use-both loading seed and by pre-sorting at harvest. Sending rocks and clods out on loads of seed has always been one of the seed growers' worst nightmares.
If rocks are sent to commercial growers, they can break the picks off planters and cause expensive repairs. In addition, if a grower cuts his own seed, rocks also damage the cutting knives.
"I'm amazed," Jorgensen said. When I run the load (10-wheeler) of dirt/clods back through the machine, I can sort out the culls to feed the cattle. I appreciate them calling me and bringing the machine into my yard. I didn't ask them to come but I'm sure glad they did. They've built something I have been looking for. This is a great company and they have a great machine. This will be perfect for the commercial grower as well," Jorgensen stated.
With 1,100 acres of seed potatoes to sort coming out of storage each year, the Jorgensen Brothers Farms is the first to benefit from the new system. Keith along with his brothers, Terry and Bryan, and father, Carl, didn't need a sales pitch-the machine sold itself.
Dave Tanner, who along with his two brothers, Max and Harvey, own Milestone, is proud of the development. He gives credit to Mitchell, his sales and design staff, and the Tanner machine shop, which was able to retrofit the Harriston roller/eliminator.
Photo by Kort Duce |
Keith Jorgensen of Grace, ID, was one happy seed grower after Milestone offered him the first chance to try the new sorter/sizer/ eliminator.
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The Large black roller is a Harriston developed and patented feature on the company's Clodhopper sorter.
It eliminates rocks and clods. Milestone developed and patented its finger roller sizer eliminator.
Each company agreed to offer the unique patented developments of each other's sorters to the other.
This will benefit the entire potato industry.
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