Page 13 - Newsletter Winter 2018

Maine Potato Board Names Fitzpatricks Farm Family Of The Year

The Maine Potato Board selected the Donald Fitzpatrick ‘56 family of Houlton as the 2018 Farm Family of the Year.

“My family and I are honored to represent our potato industry’s many farm
families,” Fitzpatrick said. “It is my pleasure to accept and to share this recognition
with Dorothy (Haley) ‘58 and all our family.”

“Donald Fitzpatrick and his family are very appropriate representatives of our
Maine potato industry,” said Donald Flannery, executive director of the Maine
Potato Board. “We will enjoy sharing this recognition with him.”
Donald Fitzpatrick planted his first crop of potatoes when he was a freshman in
high school, and this spring he helped plant his 66th crop.

He learned a lot from that first six acres. That fall potatoes were $5 a barrel. He
waited for more money and sold his crop for maybe $1 a barrel and hauled many to
the starch factory for 50 cents per barrel. A school colleague had planted a similar
plot. He sold his in the fall for the aforementioned $5 per barrel. School friend
bought a new car … Donald bought an old pickup. Lesson learned.

Family is everything to Donald. At times four generations have worked the harvest.
Son Toby ‘88 is actively involved in the farm operation, and son Chris ‘79 helps
as needed on weekends and takes vacation during harvest to work full-time on the
farm. Donald’s love for agriculture has been passed on to his grandchildren. Grandsons James ‘13 and Riley ’18 are the newest generation of
Fitzpatricks to join the farming operation.

James, Chris and Lauren’s ‘86 son, just graduated from Husson with an MBA, and Riley, son of Toby and Renee, will attend Northern
Maine Community College in the fall. Their daughter-in-law Kathy lives in Bangor, but often visits the farm.

Holding it all together is Donald’s wife, Dorothy, who also grew up on a farm.

“This is what my mother told me when I asked her for guidance when I married Donald,” said Dorothy: “‘Don’t start milking the cow,
because you’ll always have to.’ Lucky for me, we had no cows.”

Dorothy and Donald celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this summer.
Church is also very important to Donald, and he has been a faithful member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church his entire life.

Donald has always strived to be a good steward of the land, demonstrated by his willingness to try new or different conservation measures.
In the early 1980s he began to take soil conservation seriously by implementing various practices to improve his soils and increase crop
yields. He began planting a winter cover of oats, spreading hay to reduce soil erosion, establishing grassed waterways, and working toward
a three-year rotation on most of his acreage. In 2003, he was the first grower in Aroostook to experiment with the “one pass hiller,” which
resulted in fuel savings, less root damage and reduced soil compaction.

He feels a responsibility to steward his land in a diligent and accountable manner. Among his many “firsts” are his creating the first certified
compost operation in Maine. In 2014 he received the McCain Foods Environmental Award.

Donald embodies his belief that growers have a responsibility to support and advance the Maine potato industry in whatever manner they
can, and he has willingly shared his experience and expertise throughout the industry. He has partnered with the University of Maine
Cooperative Extension on many studies. He has dedicated some of his acreage for organic grain and potato production, certified through
the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. He’s incorporated irrigation into his farming operation by digging several ponds,
burying miles of underground pipe and installing more efficient irrigation systems.

Donald has served on the county committee with the Farm Service Agency and served on the board of directors for the Southern Aroostook
Soil and Water Conservation District for more than 20 years. In 2008 he was presented with the “Lifetime Conservation Farmer” award.

Twenty-five years ago, Donald’s father Anthony was recognized as “Farmer of the Year”; it seems appropriate that Donald and his family are
being recognized as the 2018 Farm Family of the Year.

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