Those numbers explain the size of Maine's potato industry. They don't explain what potatoes mean to the people who live here.

For generations, local schools scheduled fall break around the Maine potato harvest. Students picked potatoes by hand, filling wooden barrels in the fields, and those who were old enough or good enough could earn more money working on the harvester. Ask about harvest over breakfast at an Aroostook County diner today and you're likely to hear stories about how many barrels someone could pick, the farmer they worked for, and what they did with their harvest money.

Modern equipment now does most of the picking, but potato farming remains a family business passed through generations. Come to Aroostook County and you'll see that heritage growing all around you.

By the Numbers: Maine Potato Country

Aroostook County has approximately 305,000 acres of farmland, with roughly 125,000 to 150,000 acres regularly in agricultural production. Potatoes account for tens of thousands of those acres, alongside grains, buckwheat, broccoli and other crops.

The landscape changes dramatically with the agricultural calendar. Potato fields emerge in spring, turn deep green and flower during summer, and are harvested in September and October. Large potato houses, farm equipment and trucks are familiar sights along rural roads.

Maine was the eighth-largest potato-producing state in the country by volume in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Aroostook County is responsible for the vast majority of that production.

What Types of Maine Potatoes Are Grown Here?

There isn't one single Maine potato. Farmers choose different Maine potato varieties depending on whether the crop is headed to a grocery store, restaurant, French fry processor or potato chip plant.

• Caribou Russet
  The Caribou Russet is an Aroostook success story. Developed by the University of Maine in partnership with the Maine Potato Board, the variety debuted in 2015 after more than a decade of development and became Maine's most-planted seed potato variety. It performs well for French fries, chips and the fresh market. And yes, it really is named Caribou Russet.

• Russet Burbank
  Russet Burbank is a traditional processing potato recognized for its russet skin and white flesh. It is particularly well suited for baking and has long been important to commercial French fry production.

• Kennebec
  Kennebec is a versatile white potato with firm flesh and a rich flavor. It's particularly good for frying but can also be baked or mashed.

• Yukon Gold
  Yukon Gold has yellow flesh and a naturally rich flavor. It's a versatile potato for roasting, grilling, frying, boiling or mashing.

• Potatoes Grown for Chips
  Some types of Maine potatoes are grown specifically for potato-chip processing. Varieties such as Lamoka, Atlantic and Waneta have characteristics processors look for when turning an Aroostook County potato into a crisp chip. In fact, most Maine potatoes aren't ultimately sold as bags of whole potatoes. About 65% of the crop is used for processed foods.

What's a New Potato?

Drive US Route 1 through Aroostook County from mid-July into August and watch for homemade signs advertising NEW POTATOES.

A new potato isn't a particular variety. It is a young potato harvested before the main fall crop. The skin is thin, the potato is tender and the flavor makes the short season worth watching for. Because new potatoes haven't developed the thicker skin of mature potatoes, they don't store as long as potatoes harvested in the fall.

The best place to buy them may be the side of the road.

Small potato stands appear throughout Aroostook's farming communities during summer. Many aren't staffed at all. You'll find bags of freshly dug potatoes, a price and an honor box where you leave your money. Keep a little cash in the car during a summer road trip and bring a bag back to your campsite, rental or kitchen.

Potato Blossom Season

Before the potatoes come out of the ground, the fields put on a show.

By early to mid July, the green potato fields are covered with blossoms in shades of white, pink and purple. With tens of thousands of acres in production, the flowers become part of Aroostook County's summer landscape and its larger Blossom Season. Potato blossoms put on a show for about a month - each field blooms at a different time depending on when it was planted, rain, and altitude.

Fort Fairfield celebrates the industry each July with the Maine Potato Blossom Festival, a longstanding community celebration with events, entertainment and the Maine Potato Queen Pageant. The festival will reach it's 79th year in 2026 and it is famous as being one of the longest and largest parades in all of Maine.

The last Sunday in July also brings Maine Open Farm Day, when participating farms across the state welcome visitors, and August 19 is National Potato Day.

Our Mascot: The Two Faces of Maine Potatoes

Spuddy is the official mascot of the Maine Potato Board and a familiar face at agricultural events and the Maine Potato Blossom Festival, where generations of children have met the larger-than-life ambassador for Maine potatoes.  Long before Spuddy, there was the Maine Potato Boy: Fort Fairfield native William “Bill” Findlen was selected at age eight in the 1930s to become the face of a statewide advertising campaign for Maine potatoes. His image appeared on life-size store displays, potato bags, leaflets and advertisements across the Northeast, making an Aroostook County farm boy one of the early icons of Maine potato marketing.

From Aroostook County Potatoes to Potato Chips

Roughly two-thirds of Maine's potato crop is grown for processing, so there's a good chance the Maine potato you eat won't look anything like a potato by the time it reaches you. French fries are a major part of the market, as are potato chips and dehydrated potato products.

Have you heard of Fox Family Potato Chips? Every one of those bags of chips are made and packaged in Mapleton, Maine from potatoes grown right here in Maine! A new chapter in the chip story is unfolding in Limestone, where the Taste of Maine Potato Chip Co. opened an 81,100-square-foot processing facility designed to turn locally grown potatoes into kettle-cooked chips. Its initial production capacity is 15 million pounds of chips annually.

There's an older Aroostook potato-chip connection you might remember from 30,000 feet. Those distinctive blue potato chips once served aboard JetBlue flights really were made from blue potatoes. Blue potatoes for the chips were grown by LaJoie Farms in Van Buren, Maine, connecting a northern Maine farm with airline passengers across the country. Today, LaJoie Farms is famous for growing potatoes for Lay's Potato Chips.

Follow Potato Country Into New Brunswick

Bring your passport and you can continue the potato story across the international border.

Just over the border in western New Brunswick, Potato World in Florenceville-Bristol explores the history, science, machinery and global impact of the potato. The two-acre museum includes hands-on exhibits and antique farm equipment and explains how Florenceville-Bristol became known as the French Fry Capital of the World.

It's an easy addition to a road trip through potato country on both sides of the border.

The Maine Potato Harvest

September and October bring the Maine potato harvest, one of the busiest periods of the agricultural year.

Modern harvesting bears little resemblance to the days when crews of schoolchildren moved through the fields with baskets and filled wooden barrels by hand. Today's harvesters dig potatoes from the soil, separate them and move the crop into trucks for transportation to storage and processing.

The equipment has changed. The urgency of harvest hasn't.

Farm families work long days while the weather is favorable, potato trucks become a familiar sight on country roads and huge quantities of potatoes move from fields into storage before northern Maine heads toward winter. For people who grew up here, harvest remains a reference point in time. Stories about picking potatoes, working on harvesters and getting school vacation for harvest are still passed around tables and between generations. It is nearly a guarantee that if you're talking about the harvest then you'll end up talking about the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad (BAR) - this famous connection moved the potato harvest from Maine to Boston for generations before the development of over the road trucking.

The Maine Potato War of 1976

Maine potatoes were once so important that they had their own futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and for decades, Maine potatoes were the only potatoes traded there.  That changed dramatically during the Maine Potato War of 1976, when Western potato magnates J.R. Simplot and Pete Taggares made an enormous bet against Maine potato futures. When the contracts came due, they were obligated to deliver roughly 50 million pounds of Maine potatoes, but they could not secure enough to fulfill the contracts, resulting in what was then the largest commodities default in American history.  

The fallout damaged confidence in Maine potato futures so severely that the market never recovered and the exchange eventually stopped trading them.  It's a fascinating chapter in Aroostook County's agricultural history, and the podcast below tells the story of how a battle over Maine potatoes helped reshape the American potato industry.

Come See Where Maine Potatoes Grow

You don't need to tour a farm to experience potato country.

Drive through Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle, Caribou, Limestone, Mars Hill and the surrounding farming communities in July and you'll see potato blossoms stretching across the fields. Come a little later and buy new potatoes from an honor-system roadside stand. Return in September or October and you'll see harvesters working across the same landscape.

And when you order French fries, mashed potatoes or a bag of chips during your trip, remember that you're visiting the part of Maine where nearly all of the state's potatoes begin.

Common Questions

Where are most Maine potatoes grown?

About 94% of Maine potatoes are grown in Aroostook County, making northern Maine the center of the state's potato industry. Potato farming is especially prominent around Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle, Caribou, Limestone, Mars Hill and neighboring agricultural communities.

What are the most popular Maine potato varieties?

Aroostook County farmers grow potatoes for fresh markets and processing. Important Maine potato varieties include Caribou Russet, Russet Burbank, Kennebec and Yukon Gold, along with specialized chipping varieties such as Lamoka, Atlantic and Waneta. The University of Maine also continues to develop new varieties at its Aroostook Farm in Presque Isle, where researchers work with thousands of experimental plots.

What makes the Caribou Russet special?

Caribou Russet was developed by the University of Maine and Maine Potato Board and released in 2015 after more than a decade of development. It has become Maine's leading seed potato variety and works for processing as well as the fresh market.

When can I see potato blossoms in Maine?

Plan your visit for early July to early August. Peak blossoms tend to be around mid to late July. That's when Aroostook County's potato fields typically flower in shades of white, pink and purple and Fort Fairfield celebrates the industry with the Maine Potato Blossom Festival.

What is a Maine new potato?

New potatoes are young potatoes dug before the main fall harvest, generally appearing at Aroostook County roadside stands beginning in July. Their skins are thin and their texture is tender, but they don't store as long as mature fall potatoes.

When is the Maine potato harvest?

The main Maine potato harvest takes place in September and October. Modern machinery now performs most of the harvesting, although generations of Aroostook County residents remember when schools scheduled harvest break and students picked potatoes by hand.

Where can visitors learn more about potato farming?

Start by experiencing Aroostook County's agricultural landscape, roadside stands and Maine Potato Blossom Festival. With a passport, visitors can also cross into New Brunswick and visit Potato World in Florenceville-Bristol for exhibits about potato farming, machinery, history and the industry's international impact.