Potato production in Maine has decreased steadily over the last 15 years, down from 65,000 acres in 1999 to about 54,000 last year, according to the Maine Potato Board.
Potatoes are a $500 million industry in the state, Tim Hobbs, director of development and grower relations for the board, said Thursday.
There are between 275 and 300 farm operations scattered across the state, which “is down significantly from 20 or 30 years ago, but we really don’t keep track of the number of farmers anymore, just the number of operations,” Hobbs said.
Competition from farmers in other states and countries remains a huge factor for the industry in Maine, Flannery said. Idaho, Washington and Wisconsin were the top three potato producing states, according to the potato board’s 2013 industry report, while Maine was No. 9. With 316,000 acres harvested in 2013, Idaho represented 33.1 percent of the total potato acreage harvested in the country. Maine, with 53,000 acres harvested, represented 3.9 percent of the total that year.
“It is difficult at times,” said Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board in Presque Isle. “There are no new products in the potato industry: You have potatoes, French fries, chips. You have to find niches.”
