🔒As Aroostook goes, so goes the rest of Maine

Back in October, when Senior Writer James McCarthy and I first paid a visit to Aroostook County, potatoes were not the only things on our minds.

We were part of a group of invited guests of the nonprofit Libra Foundation, which is an investor in Pineland Farms and Pineland Farms Naturally Potatoes. Others in the group included Craig Denekas, president and CEO of the Libra Foundation; Bill Haggett, CEO of Pineland Farms; and Betsy Biemann, former head of MTI who is part of a research project, the “Maine Food Cluster,” at Harvard.

It was my first trip to The County. (Jim subsequently drove back up there for another visit with Naturally Potatoes COO Rodney McCrum.) While its vast open land reminded me a bit of the Midwest, it has the unmistakable air of Maine, albeit a less populated version. Driving on a main road from Presque Isle to Fort Fairfield, we swerved around a big cardboard box on the road. An hour later, when we came back, the box was in the same spot.

Yet here's the thing: The County has some strong economic representation. We took a tour through the Naturally Potatoes plant in Mars Hill. For a company that had a tenuous, hardscrabble start, last year it generated $35 million in sales, selling pre-made mashed potatoes to restaurant chains like Applebee's and in refrigerated packages sold in supermarkets. On our visit, the site was undergoing a $7.5 million expansion, which is now finished.

Elsewhere in The County, Pineland Farms has a cattle lot for its Natural Meats division in Fort Fairfield. That cattle lot, in turn, is bordered by one of the broccoli fields owned by Smith's Farm Inc. And McCain Foods USA has a major presence at its French fry plant in Easton.

In Jim's story about Naturally Potatoes, the company's principal, Rodney McCrum, sounds the theme of wanting to provide jobs, livable wages and, most importantly, a future for the young people of the county. Much of what he says will have a familiar ring throughout Maine.

Yet McCrum himself is an example of what it takes to succeed. He may have started as a potato farmer, but, based on the two times I've met him, I can say he is clearly a salesman. He is passionate about the potato — as a viable crop but also as a store-ready, packaged product.

More than that, what comes through is that McCrum is an entrepreneur. He's wasn't afraid to take on the big project, such as buying a bankrupt supermarket chain's potato operation in The County. He demonstrated early on that he wasn't afraid to take on debt to start what he saw as a viable company. And he has the element of fearlessness that every entrepreneur needs: to build a production plant, raise money, find major customers. Maine and all of its counties need economic development programs, but you can't build an economy without entrepreneurs like McCrum.

McCrum is also, as we say in the news business, a quote machine. So I'll share with you a couple of Rodney McCrum quotes that ended up on the cutting room floor:

“In business today, you have to be willing to recognize your weaknesses and have the willingness and the ability to change course when necessary. If you're satisfied with what you have and want to continue, then continue what you're doing. But, if you're not satisfied, you have to change.”

“The secret of any business is to try to convince enough people of the vision you have and to have the staying power to see it all the way through to the end. Don't forget: Walt Disney went broke twice.”

Entrepreneurs, start your engines!