Potato Cultivation

Ridge shape and splitting and the positioning of the toolbar on a tractor all play their part in the successful production of potatoes.

It’s a skilled job, using a tractor to both create and ‘split’ the ridges in which potatoes are planted, and the female driver is well-versed in the art of the ‘special splitting method’. She is demonstrating the correct methods of using the machinery – which will help to ensure a plentiful crop of potatoes - at the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering at Askham Bryan, York.

The Institute of Agricultural Engineering originated at Oxford University in 1924, its role being to undertake machinery trials and research into e.g. haymaking, crop drying, wind power. During WWII - in 1942 - it became a branch of the Ministry of Agriculture and moved, temporarily, to quarters at Askham Bryan, near York, where it became a national institute. Research and testing carried on but training (as per the films) was the priority, mainly for members of the UK-wide War Agricultural Executive Committees. In 1947 the institute moved to very attractive quarters at Wrest Park in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, becoming known as the Silsoe Research Institute.