BKR Farms

Transforming Seed Potato Quality through Optical Innovation

Quick Facts

  • Client: BKR Farms
  • Industry: 100% Seed Potato Production
  • Solution: TOMRA 3A  
  • Key Challenge: Chronic labor shortages in a rural area during a high-stakes 6-week harvest window.

Results at a Glance

  • 600% Labor Productivity Increase: Nearly doubled output while downsizing the sorting crew by two-thirds.
  • 80% Volume Growth: Hourly capacity surged from 100,000 lbs to 180,000 lbs.
  • 100% Reduction in Quality Complaints: Zero calls regarding quality or size since the first spring following implementation.
  • 50% Total Labor Bill Reduction
  • 185% Throughput Increase: Daily capacity jumped from a maximum of 11–13 trucks to 37 trucks across two facilities.
  • Continuous Flow: Unlike manual crews, the TOMRA 3A requires no breaks, eliminating operational downtime.

The sensitivity of what you are sorting—you can tweak it easily. All the settings have a bit of nuance and you can make those quick adjustments and everything gets sorted well.

Ryan Christensen Owner, BKR Farms 

The Challenge: The Labor Bottleneck

For a 100% seed potato operation like BKR Farms, precision is mandatory. Product must be clean, correctly sized, and free of foreign material to meet rigorous state inspection standards. 

  • Labor Scarcity: Finding quality temporary help for just a month and a half out of the year was an annual "headache".
  • Production Ceiling: Limited by human hands, the facility was capped at 100,000 lbs per hour—roughly 11 to 13 trucks a day.
  • Ineffective Alternatives: BKR considered traditional mechanical separation methods, but found they required massive power infrastructure and lacked the nuanced control needed for seed potatoes

The labor issue was a big pain point. Without the labor, you can't go through the potatoes... we just physically could not do it and get a quality product into the trucks.

Ryan Christensen Owner, BKR Farms 

The Solution: Why the TOMRA 3A?  

BKR Farms selected the TOMRA 3A for its "workability"—a design that functions reliably from top to bottom even in extreme conditions.

  • Durability: Engineered to operate reliably outdoors and in challenging environmental conditions
  • On-the-Fly Adaptability: Sensitivity settings can be "tweaked" easily to handle different potato varieties and changing field conditions.
  • Unmatched Support: Ryan cited "phenomenal" customer support, specifically noting the ability to deliver parts overnight and the accessibility of experts to answer technical questions
TOMRA 3A for potato sorting

The Impact: Results That Speak for Themselves

1. Massive Efficiency Gains

The shift from manual sorting to the TOMRA 3A allowed BKR Farms to redefine its operational capacity overnight by downsizing the labor force while increasing output.

"How fast we could go and how little people [it took]. Having 15 staff and [downsizing] to 5 staff. Doing 100,000 pounds an hour with 15 people and then you upped to 180,000 pounds an hour with 5 people... a third of the people with almost double the output."  — Ryan Christensen, Owner, BKR Farms

2. Drastic Cost Savings

By automating the bulk of the sorting process, BKR was able to slash its single greatest expense 

"I’ve cut my spring labor in half at least. I have less people, but I am growing more potatoes. Now I’m usually wrapped up by 3 pm and my buyers are happy because I’m shipping more trucks."  

3. Unrivaled Quality Control

Since installing the TOMRA 3A, the farm has achieved a flawless track record.

"At the end of my first spring, we realized we had not received a single call about quality or size. And every inspector says that when they come to our place, they know that it's going to be boring because they're just not going to have much to do." 

4. User-Friendly Innovation

Despite the advanced technology, the system remains accessible to the entire farm crew.

"TOMRA’s interface is a lot more user-friendly than anything else we’ve seen. It’s very easy for me now."

Future-Ready Operations

Today, BKR Farms is often done with its sorting by 3:00 PM, allowing for more work to be completed around the farm. With the TOMRA 3A, the "fear" of missing sorting targets is gone, empowering the farm to take on more acreage and handle diverse varieties that were previously unmanageable.

Workability—because the thing just works. It's a culture of trying to make it work for customers... you can adapt to your potatoes and whatever your needs are.

Ryan Christensen Owner, BKR Farms