Governor lauds Caribou family for farming effort

FORT FAIRFIELD – Members of the Robert Irving family, multigeneration farmers from Caribou, were named this year’s Farm Family of the Year.

The efforts of Maine potato growers, especially the Irvings, were lauded Friday night by both Gov. John Baldacci and state Agriculture Commissioner Robert Spear at the industry’s 20th annual dinner.

The celebration of the Maine potato industry was in full swing in the potato capital of the state. More than 275 people attended the annual industry dinner held in the Shaw Farm potato house.

The dinner was held during the 58th annual Maine Potato Blossom Festival.

Robert Irving, his sons Scott, Steve and Jeff, operate a 1,400-acre farm in the Washburn-Caribou area.

They raise 700 acres of potatoes and 500 acres of barley annually. Over the years, the Irving family, which started farming in Aroostook County during the late 1800s, has also been involved in the raising of dairy cattle and Standardbred horses.

The patriarch, Robert Irving, was raised on the original family farm and has been farming for more than 50 years.

Baldacci and Spears also lauded the effort of the Irving family. “It takes families, families like yours, to make a successful farm operation,” Spear said, referring to the Irvings.

The four male members of the Irving family accepted a legislative sentiment from state Sen. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake, and state Rep. Peter Edgecomb, R-Caribou, as well as a plaque from the Maine Potato Board, the agency that selects the annual Farm Family of the Year.

Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board, said the annual dinner is held to get industry people together and to salute one farm that goes above and beyond the call of duty in the industry.