Before John Hanson’s revolutionary potato digger, the hand spade or conventional single furrow plough or drill plough was used. A special potato plough was available to “split” each drill by cutting ...

QUINCY, Wash. — Larry Schaapman kept a sharp eye on the gap between the primary and secondary chains of his new state-of-the-art potato digger to make sure potatoes and dirt weren’t bunching up. He’d ...