Restoring History and Planting the Future: Our 1947 Oliver No. 5 Potato Planter Project

This past spring, I took on a project that blended history, family, and a whole lot of elbow grease. I’d recently picked up a 1947 Oliver No. 5 potato planter—an incredible piece of agricultural engineering from a different era. It had good bones, but it needed some serious attention.

I completely disassembled it, cleaned it up, greased every moving part, replaced the worn pins and bushings, and brought it back to life piece by piece. What made the project even more special was the help I got along the way. My wife, Carrie, played a huge part—she helped design and make the new hopper cones. We picked up some canvas at Hobby Lobby and used an online cone calculator to get the dimensions just right. After a few test fits and adjustments, we attached the new cones and stood back to admire our work.

The real payoff came when it was time to put the Oliver to use. My son, Jordon, fired up our 1946 Farmall A tractor and handled the driving, while I rode on the planter to make sure everything worked as it should. It was an incredible experience—three generations, one vintage tractor, and a restored piece of equipment that’s nearly 80 years old, all working together in the spring sunshine.

We planted over 1,600 feet of potato rows that day—50 lbs Kennebec, 50 lbs Red Pontiac, and 50 lbs Yukon Gold. Watching the planter drop seed potatoes in perfect rhythm felt like a quiet celebration of craftsmanship, tradition, and family.

There’s something special about blending the old with the new, especially when it brings people together. The work we did wasn’t just about growing food—it was about preserving a little slice of farming history and passing that love down the line.