SIDNEY, Man. – The drone of a tractor engine cuts across a field blanketed with potato plants. The only other sound is the chirp of crickets and the rustle of trees dappled in fall colors.
The day promises ideal weather for harvesting. The canopy of blue sky and the gentle breeze buoy Ken Carritt’s optimism.
“If the machinery stays together, it’s going to be a great day,” said Ken, a tall man with sharp features and a winsome smile.
Ken began growing potatoes in 1981, two years before he and Brenda were married. As in past years, this harvest season brings anticipation and a flurry of activity.
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The days start early and end late. Up to 11 workers gather at the farm each day. Most were novices when the harvest began – but they learn quickly.
“I think this is actually the best crew we’ve had in years,” said Ken, during a brief respite in his work. “I think most of them are committed to staying.”
Nearby, Greg Nielsen snags unwanted plant stems and clods of dirt off a conveyor that carries potatoes into storage. An Australian farmer by trade, Nielsen traveled to Canada with his wife, who is here on a teacher’s exchange.
Nielsen seems in his element at the Carritt farm, helping mend broken equipment when not driving a potato truck. But it’s doubtful he has found a new calling.
“It’s all right,” he said, while plucking debris from the steady flow of potatoes.
“I might be sick of the sight of spuds after a couple of weeks of it though.”
In previous years, Ken ran the harvester, a machine that unearths pot-atoes and conveys them into a truck. This year he hired someone else for that job, allowing himself time to oversee the harvest.
He shuttles back and forth between the field, farmyard and storage shed. Some days, machinery breakdowns keep him on the run.
A tractor alternator quits. Bearings wear out on rollers that turn conveyor belts. A truck starts to overheat, suggesting the fan belt is loose.
An inventory of spare parts usually allows for quick repairs. The machinery was serviced before harvest, but breakdowns seem inevitable.
Ken takes each of them in stride.
“In the morning, you have to wake up and say ‘good morning’ cheerfully to everyone that walks up to you. You set the mood for the whole crew.”
The Carritts have 450 acres of potatoes to harvest. They can cover 20 acres on a good day, meaning harvest could end in mid-October.
The potatoes are grown under contract with Midwest Foods, a company that makes french fries at its plant near Carberry, Man.
Midwest Foods cut back its contracts with growers an average of 15 percent this year.
By the time harvest rolled around, the Carritts’ contract was at levels only slightly below last year. That, combined with the promise of good yields, kept Ken optimistic as harvest unfolded.
Also, the farm appears to have won its expensive and constant battle against late blight fungus, a good omen as the potato tubers are conveyed into storage.
“We’ve run a fairly good fungicide program,” Ken said, while preparing to slice through a broken bearing with a cutting torch. “It’s been very effective this year.”
Meanwhile, Brenda is inside their home looking through a folder with names of possible harvest workers. A neighbor had phoned earlier saying he needed a truck driver. Brenda calls him and offers some likely candidates.
A day earlier, she made three trips to Carberry to pick up parts for harvesting equipment. The day before that she had to make the hour-long drive into Brandon, Man., to buy a drive shaft for their harvester.
“I don’t know if it’s just me, but we seem to be plagued with more problems this year,” she said.
Brenda finds harvest more stressful than seeding time. The risk of a killer frost lingers and no one can predict when fall will turn to winter.
She remembers a time when their crop was smaller and family and neighbors did most of the harvesting work.
Meals were prepared for the harvest crew, something that is now too expensive because of the large number of people they employ.
The Carritts’ four children are all in school, the youngest now in Grade 2. The fall season brings soccer, swimming and music lessons, which mean regular trips to town for Brenda.
She also checks on their cattle during harvest. They have 95 cows with calves.
Raised on a cattle farm near Carberry, Brenda enjoys the livestock. The cattle, content after a summer on pasture, offer a reprieve from the harried days of picking potatoes.
“It’s almost like a relaxing thing for Ken and I,” said Brenda, adding the financial benefits are welcome, too.
“Through the years, they’ve saved our butts.”
