AROOSTOOK COUNTY (NEWS CENTER Maine) - The Maine potato industry has made leaps and bounds in technological advancements in the past few decades.
Today, it is rare to find anyone picking potatoes by hand. At most potato farms in Maine, the picking process is now performed by the mechanical arms of a harvester. The harvester is one of many technological advancements that has reshaped the way potatoes get from the earth to our dinner tables or a bag of chips.
Nick Flewelling, a foreman at Flewelling Farms in Easton, says, "It’s not just showing up to work and turning wrenches and working in the fields anymore. It’s a lot of book work and studying. I’ve probably got 40 to 50 hours just of reading manuals just to run some of this computer equipment."
Many farmers say that the new era of technology in the potato industry opens up a well of opportunity for younger tech-savvy generations to get involved.
Darrel McCrum, a manager at County Super Spuds in Mars Hill, says, "It’s important that we have young people coming into agriculture because we need their knowledge. Young people, in their 20s and 30s, adopt the new technology a lot more quickly than the older generations."
However, many farmers say they have witnessed a lack of interest in younger generations to work in the potato industry and agriculture in general.
Justin Faulkner, who works at County Super Spuds, says, "I think there’s a big change in the last ten years of people that weren't born and raised in [farming] not sticking with it."