There's two threads running on people growing small areas of spuds now. Are you all hunkering down for the apocalypse? Planting them by hand (with the help of a ridger) isn't too bad, but digging them all up by hand is a massive pain in the arse.
The answer to your question is yes. My boss is planning for a much more serious contingency regarding self sufficiency. I do hope he’s overreacting. I don’t relish the prospect of having to guard the crop 24 hours/day with a gun if we should get to that state of affairs.