EASTERN STATES EXPOSITION AGRICULTURAL
ADVENTURERS AWARD
2018 WINNERS: CRANE BROTHERS FARMS,
EXETER, MAINE
More Info: Catherine Pappas
Public Relations & Communications
Manager
(413) 205-5041
Info Line: (413) 205-5115
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 17, 2018
West Springfield, Mass.- The New England Fellowship of
Agricultural Adventurers presented Crane Brothers Farms, of Exeter, Maine, with
the 2018 Agricultural Adventurers Award at the Annual Meeting of Eastern States
Exposition (ESE), May 17, in West Springfield, Mass.
The award, sponsored by ESE, was
presented to the four-generation enterprise known throughout the Northeast for
its large-scale, state-of-the-art potato and grain production and for the
contributions Crane family members continue to make to agriculture and the
public sphere at the community, regional and national levels.
The Crane Brothers story begins with
Mildred and George Crane who in the 1950s sold their farm to sons Vernon and
Neil. They formed Crane Brothers Farms and grew peas, beans and other
vegetables for a cannery in nearby Corinna, Maine. In 1961, they entered into a contract with
Frito Lay to produce chip potatoes for a plant in Fall River, Mass. In the
mid-1970s Frito built what, at the time, was considered the largest snack food
plant in the world in Killingly, Conn., and Crane Brothers Farms would keep
pace with the plant’s needs by growing and expanding their potato acreage and
becoming one of the largest suppliers of chip potatoes in the Northeast.
Crane Brothers today has the second
oldest standing supply contract with Frito Lay in the United States. Vern and
Neil’s sons Steve and Jim graduated from the University of Maine and returned
to gradually take over management of the operation, which grew with the
purchase of other farms in the central Maine area around Exeter and in the
Oxford County region in western Maine. They also added acreage through rental
agreements to the point where today they plant upwards of 3,200 acres of
potatoes, corn and small grains, which are rotated as part of the farms’
sophisticated crop health management program. Some 70 percent of the acres of
land are irrigated.
Jim’s sons Andy and Ryan have finished
college at the University of Maine and Purdue respectively and have joined the
operation, representing the fourth generation of Cranes on the land. Jim and
Steve are the leaders of the team, while their fathers Vernon and Neil are
active during the production season and spend winters in the South.
Crane Brothers has a fleet of 30
trucks, 20 tractors and a vast array of modern tillage machinery, planters,
sprayers, combines, diggers and other rolling equipment. Their grading and
storage facilities are strictly state-of-the-art in order to conform to Frito
Lay’s exacting quality standards. In the current year the farm will ship
between 250,000 and 300,000 hundredweight of potatoes to the Frito plant and
market 250,000 bushels of corn and small grains to mills in the New England
region.
The operation has succeeded by
aggressive adoption of the latest advances in agronomy, cutting edge practices
in culture and the latest harvest technology. Proprietary seed stock is
provided by Frito Lay and is planted for fall, winter and springtime shipment.
Potatoes grown in western Maine are shipped from the fields to the fryer
without going into storage. Central Maine crops are stored for both short and
long-term usage in facilities located in three different towns.
Beyond the farms’ complex operations,
the Cranes are involved in many activities of benefit to their industry and the
broader community. Neil has served on
the U.S. Potato Board, including a stint as chairman, and president of the Maine
Association of Conservation Districts. Steve has been on the National Potato
Council, of which he was president in 2012. Neil has been a board member of the
Maine Farmland Trust and the USDA-ASCS state committee. Ryan currently holds a seat on the Penobscot
County Conservation Committee, in addition to being a member of the state
Integrated Pest Management Board. Cranes have held office on local boards of
selectmen, school boards and other committees. Jim presently sits on the
Advisory Council of Farm Credit East and he has also served several years as
vice president of Maine Farm Bureau.
In a mission statement, Crane Brothers
Farms sets forth three key goals: A fair rate of return on invested resources
to its owners; a safe and fulfilling environment to work and live in; and a
farm capable of producing sustained income for future generations. This mission
will be accomplished when: Those employed in the business complete their
careers with financial security, and value our family and business
associations; the business grows and adapts, remains financially viable and is
successfully passed to successors with qualifications and interest that assure
continuation of its heritage; and, to continue to be an industry leader and to
grow the business through traditional contracts, new customers and through
niche market opportunities.
The
Fellowship of Agricultural Adventurers has honored outstanding leaders in New
England agriculture since 1953. A special committee, appointed by the trustees
of Eastern States Exposition, selects its annual fellow on the basis of
innovation, pioneering and lifetime dedication to the betterment of
agriculture.
The
Big E takes place September 14-30, 2018, in West Springfield, Mass. For more
information and to interact with the Fair through social media, visit www.TheBigE.com.
 Lois and Neil Crane, of Crane Brothers Farms in Exeter, Maine, center, were honored with the 2018 Eastern States Exposition Agricultural Adventurers Award May 17 during the organization’s annual meeting. Pictured left to right are: ESE Chairman of the Board David Henry; Stephen Taylor, ESE trustee and chair of the Ag Adventures Committee; the Cranes; Robert Spear, ESE trustee and Ag Adventurers Committee member; and ESE President and CEO Eugene J. Cassidy.
| 
