Maine potato industry honors retiring director and Susan Collins

EASTON, Maine — Maine’s potato industry honored its retiring executive director, Don Flannery, with help from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins during the annual Maine Potato Board dinner Thursday.

The event was held at Flewelling Farms in Easton. Flannery was honored for 27 years of leadership with the 2024 Maine Potato Board Industry Recognition Award.

The dinner is a longtime tradition during the Maine Potato Blossom Festival, a week of festivities based in Fort Fairfield that pays homage to Aroostook County’s agricultural heritage. Each year the board honors people whose work has advanced the industry. Flannery will retire in October and Assistant Executive Director Jeannie Tapley will take his place.

Everything about the industry has changed in those 27 years, Flannery said.

“Across the board, our growers in Maine are much more sophisticated. The technology in this industry over the last 15 years, let alone 27, is just tremendous,” he said.

From seed breeding to agronomy, and the use of GPS systems to target pesticide application, farming today is more scientifically advanced than ever. And growers need to be that sophisticated because there’s so much at risk, he said. Potatoes are expensive to produce and growers have to make sure they’re paying attention to every detail.

Good soil management provides a better crop, he said. Advances in storage systems help farmers keep the crop in good condition year round, which benefits all three segments of the market: processing, seed and fresh-market potatoes.

He credited Dr. Greg Porter, now retired, and the University of Maine potato breeding program for their work to create potatoes with more disease resistance. The biggest success by far has been the Caribou russet, which Porter helped create with the assistance of the Maine Potato Board.

“It changed the industry,” Flannery said. “It put the fresh producers back in the business, because we never could compete with russet potatoes. Now, all these other states — Michigan, Wisconsin, Idaho, Washington — they can’t get enough of it.”

Flannery said Tapley will lead the industry well. In her 16 years as assistant director, she has joined Flannery on many occasions to deliver testimony in Augusta and elsewhere on agricultural topics. She knows the issues well and has a good rapport with the growers, he said.

Tapley presented Flannery with the award, a golden “Mr. Potato Head” trophy. In a commemorative brochure, the board called him “Maine’s Spudman.” She joked she had to keep the brochure a secret because he doesn’t like being honored.

Through his years in the industry, Flannery has been a grower, business development leader and legislative spokesman, has helped secure research funding and been a mentor to the board and staff.

“Don’s commitment to this industry locally and nationally, and his cooperation with the Maine Potato Board and growers, has been invaluable,” Tapley said. “His leadership has been vital in keeping the Maine potato industry strong and energetic.”

Flannery received a standing ovation.

Sen. Collins presented him with an American flag that she asked to be flown over the Capitol in his honor, and a framed copy of one of his speeches from the Congressional Record.

Flannery provided information to help her advocate for retaining potatoes as part of school lunch and welfare food programs, and most recently to keep potatoes classified as a vegetable, not a grain , she said.

Before the event began, Collins spoke to the Bangor Daily News on issues of national concern.

Collins has said she plans to write in former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley for president in November, and despite Haley endorsing Trump recently, Collins said her plans haven’t changed.

“I have made it very clear that I don’t support either President Biden, whose policies have really been a disaster, nor do I support President Trump, and I still intend to write in the person whom I’d really like to see as president, and that is Nikki Haley,” the senator said.

Collins also announced recently that increased funding for potato breeding programs had passed the Senate. The bill contains $4 million that will include funding for the University of Maine in Orono and the Aroostook Farm in Presque Isle.

Potato breeding programs led to the development of the Caribou russet potato that has been such a success, she said. The work is also vital to fight invasive species and disease.

“Having the funding for agricultural research is important to the industry’s success in developing new varieties, and also in fighting invasive species that could come in,” she said.

Collins received her own golden “Mr. Potato Head” trophy at the dinner from Maine Potato Board President Robbie Irving.

The senator has provided unwavering support for the potato industry by helping secure funding and advocating for potatoes at the national level, Irving said.

At the dinner’s conclusion, Flannery thanked Bruce and Val Flewelling for hosting the event and the Fort Fairfield Lions Club for cooking the meal.

Tapley presented Irving with a plaque in recognition of his two years as president.