1999 Annual Agricultural Issue article focusing on Maine\u27s potato industry, whic

1999 Annual Agricultural Issue article focusing on Maine\u27s potato industry, which generates about $750 million per year, maybe. Craig Ten Broeck, a research associate at the Maine Department of Agriculture, says it all depends on who you talk to. Don Flannery of the Maine Potato Board says the value added to the national economy from Maine is around $200 million. About 67,000 acres are planted to potatoes this year, up from 64,500 in 1998, the first increase after nearly three decades of declining acreages. According to Andrew Yaeger, president of the Maine Potato Board, the industry is divided into three markets: processors, fresh potatoes and seed potatoes. With stiff competition in the fresh potato market from Western growers in Idaho, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, the current proportions in Maine are about 50 percent processors (primarily fries and chips), 25 percent fresh potato (table product) growers, and 25 percent seed potato growers