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20 Potato Grower |MAY 2015 A Century of Success By Tyrell Marchant The LaJoie family has always been farmers— at least for as many generations as anyone cares to mention. But they haven't always grown potatoes in northern Maine; that's only been going on for a mere 115 years or so. "I attribute a lot of our success today to earlier generations of my family," says Jay LaJoie, who represents the fifth generation of LaJoies to work the original farm in Van Buren, Maine. "My family has always had that hard work ethic; I was brought up with it." That work ethic has driven the growth of what today at 1,300-acre operation, 500 acres of which are dedicated to as many as seven varieties of potatoes. About half of those potatoes in a given year will go to the chipping sector, with about 20 percent going to both the fresh and processing markets. The remaining 10 percent of the LaJoies' potato crop is seed, the majority of which goes back into their own operation. In 2007 the family organized the farm into an LLC. Grower of the Month LaJoie Growers LLC of Van Buren, Maine 20 Potato Grower |MAY 2015 Hard at work Cousins Jay (left) and Lucas LaJoie make up half of the ownership team at LaJoie Growers LLC. Photo courtesy Sha~Lam Photography Feeling blue The LaJoies have found great success in growing blue potatoes in the rocky, rolling hills of northern Maine. Photo courtesy LaJoie Growers LLC Bird's eye view The LaJoies begin harvesting early potatoes in early to mid-August. Harvest generally runs through mid-October. Photo courtesy Paul Cyr Photography