I saw this at a Thresherman's Reunion - show. It has an apron that goes up and down. The bowl has no floor in it. There is a chain sprocket on the rear wheel to put power to the functions. The owner wasn't around to ask about it.
Might be a machine to slice under potatoes and break up the soil so they can be pulled up easier.
I was thinking potatoes too, but this is heavier than any potato digger I've ever seen. Maybe an early elevating scraper?
I thought scraper also. The back of the bowl is tilted back about 15°. I don't see how it could load all the way to the top of the bowl. There was also a slip scraper-not far from it the type that was pulled by mules. I still remember one on the farm i grew up on.
I would have loved to have had the lawn tractor bulldozer as a kid.