PRESQUE ISLE – Canadian competition is but one of the issues facing the Maine potato industry that was discussed Tuesday by more than 100 growers and industry officials, researchers and regulators.

It had been at least 10 years since the Maine potato industry took a long look at itself in an organized session. Its players did so Tuesday at the Maine potato industry potato summit at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

On the agenda: problems and what participants could do about them, first as growers of seed, tablestock and processing growers in breakout sessions, then as a whole. A report of the summit is expected in September or October, and committees may start their work on individual issues as early as November.

“Some issues raised here today were defined more than they have been in the past,” said Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board, after the final session. “New issues were raised. I’m encouraged by growers who came today and who have not been engaged before in these kinds of discussions,” he said.

Flannery said the board members wanted to spread the message that if people are in the industry, they have to be involved. Sitting back doesn’t work.

Ned Berce, a seed grower at St. Agatha, has been involved in the industry as long as he has been putting seed in the ground.

“It was an opportunity to decide what our goals need to be,” he said. “We identified issues in our paths and who the people are that can assist in finding solutions to them. I think inroads were made here today,” he said. “We seemed to be more cohesive in discussions.”

Berce believes that the identification of issues is the first step in helping an industry that has just been through one of its worst years in a decade.

He’s a realist and understands that there now needs to be some follow-up to the issues discussed during the nearly eight hours of meetings.

Before discussing the numerous issues, Dan Bobinski, president of Leadership Development of Boise, Idaho, discussed “Toads in the Potato Market.”

While toads are normally thought of as amphibians, Bobinski said, “toads” are things that get in the way of moving forward. The education process he uses helps people to know where they want to be and how to get there.

Bobinski urged discussion by the group at the summit “which includes hundreds of years of knowledge.”

“Create plans, action plans,” he urged.

Issues raised by the growers included:

. Knowing and understanding consumers.

. Finding markets for off-grade potatoes in animal feed and alcohol production.

. Getting a new processor for Aroostook County to create new markets.

. Irrigation research.

. Working with regulations.

. Developing a strategy to improve the transportation system in Aroostook County.

They also talked about developing earlier varieties of potatoes, crop rotation, developing a larger market, strengthen research and quality, doing research on bulk easements into Canada, and the cost of doing business in Maine.

“Many are issues that make us less competitive,” Berce said.

At the plenary session at the end of the day, they looked at what can be done, within their sphere of influence, to assist with their problems. While many of their “golden nuggets” involved politicians and legislation, many of the long-term goals for the Maine potato industry involved research and their own hard work.

In a show of hands, most participants said they learned something about their industry Tuesday, about half believed the day was beneficial, and at least half said they wanted to get involved in efforts to better their industry.