Corey named Young Farmer of Year

First female to receive Maine potato industry honor
    MONTICELLO, Maine — The Maine Potato Board has announced that Sara Corey of Monticello has been selected as the 2013 Young Farmer of the Year. Sara, 23, is the first woman to be chosen for this recognition and is also the youngest recipient of the honor.Sara is the daughter of Daniel and Amy Corey, also of Monticello. Growing up on the farm, she worked on the harvester all through school until late high school when she ran the windrower. “I remember getting that pay check after three weeks, I felt so rich! Working on the farm definitely established my work ethic,” said Sara. “I’ve worked as a field scout since I was 15 for my Dad and other Aroostook County farmers from Littleton to Limestone to Florenceville, NB. I even traveled to Exeter a few years while I was in college,” she added.
Sara attended Husson University in Bangor majoring in chemistry on her way to a career as a pharmacist.
“Farming was definitely not my first plan,” she said. “I graduated from high school thinking I would never return to the town of Monticello and planned on becoming a pharmacist. It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I decided pharmacy wasn’t for me. I came home weekends in college and helped during planting and harvest. After living in Bangor for four years, I decided that on the farm in Monticello was exactly where I wanted to be.”
Sara earned her bachelor of science degree in chemistry in May 2012 from Husson University, where she received the award of excellence in chemistry for her graduating class.
Already planning an ambitious career in the Maine potato industry, Sara wasted no time in jumping right in.
“While I was studying for my degree, I also was lucky enough to take plant pathology at the University of Maine with plant pathologist Dr. Dave Lambert,” she said. “After graduation, I returned to the farm full time as director of agronomy and variety development. In May 2012, I took out my first FSA loan. I grew some specialty varieties and had mini-tubers in the greenhouse. I sold my mini tubers out west and helped establish mini-tuber sales. We recently purchased the former Monsanto facility in Island Falls, which has the only privately held greenhouses in the Northeast for mini tuber production. I have been challenged to maximize mini-tuber production to make use of available greenhouse space. In 2013 I took out my second FSA loan for some specialty varieties and oats. I have about 280 acres of grain this year in Island Falls.”
Sara is intimately involved in all aspects of their 1,000-acre seed potato farming operation. She helped evolve Corey Farms by talking her father into adopting John Deere GPS technology on their planter, tractors, and combine and attended John Deere sponsored training in New York last spring. With help from the Maine Potato Board, Sara expanded irrigation practices at the Monticello farm location with the addition of a pond, a pivot, and a traveling boom system.
She has explored and expanded niche markets for small growers with more specialty varieties. And to position Corey Farms et al. in the most positive manner, Sara designed and built their webpage for a better marketing strategy. She indicated that she looks forward to her two brothers, Jon and Ben, joining the farm operation when they finish college.
Sara takes her responsibilities seriously as an integral member of the Maine potato industry. Along with her work with Corey Farms et al., she is a member of the research committee for the Maine Potato Board and is a member of the Central Aroostook Young Farmers organization.
And in her spare time?
“What spare time?” exclaimed Sara. “Farming doesn’t leave me much time…but I love to go! Whether it’s camp, traveling somewhere, concerts, anything. I love to have things planned.”
Sara added, “I hope I can serve as a role model for women in our industry. I would encourage young women to take a good, hard look at the Maine potato industry as a potential career. Those of us fortunate to grow up on a farm know that our mothers are true partners in the operation, and we need to recognize what they do. This is a true honor for me and I look forward to doing my best for the industry,” concluded Sara.
Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board, expressed confidence and enthusiasm for the industry’s latest “young farmer” honoree. “The selection of the Young Farmer of the Year covers a number of criteria, and Sara rates high in all of them,” he said. “We’re truly pleased to formally recognize our first woman as an industry leader. Sara’s an excellent representative of the future of the Maine potato industry.”
The criteria for honoring a grower as the Young Farmer of the Year includes:
•    Forty years of age or younger
•    Have outstanding farming practice
•    Show growth and advancements in their farming operations
•    Leadership within the industry
•    Involvement with MPB activities
•    Willingness to explore new methods, technologies, and advancements in the potato industry
•    Participation in the local community, church and other civic groups
The 2013 Young Farmer of the Year will be recognized and honored at the Maine Potato Board annual meeting in March.