Pineland Farms
at hub of value-added food movement
FORT KENT, Maine — For almost a century, the cluster of brick buildings in New Gloucester housed the state’s institution for developmentally disabled people — originally called the Maine School for the Feeble-Minded — before it fell on hard times in the 1970s and finally shut its doors in 1996.
Today, the buildings, grounds and gardens are home to Pineland Farms and are at the center of the state’s locally produced and value-added food movement with operations stretching from southern Maine to the St. John Valley.
“When it was a mental hospital, it had two large farms on either side of it,” Craig Denekas, president of the Libra Foundation, said.
In 2000, Libra — the private philanthropic foundation created by the late Elizabeth Noyce in 1989 — purchased the original 1,600-acre property from the state to build what is now a 5,000-acre working farm, diverse business campus and educational and recreational venue.
“Libra was really sort of the originator of Pineland,” Denekas said. “When we acquired the buildings, we also got those two farms — Hill Farm and Valley Farm.”
Back when it was a state hospital, some residents tended to the animals to produce eggs, milk and cheese and grew vegetables, Denekas said.
“We got it in 2000 and then commenced a very large-scale rehabilitation project,” he said. “We renovated every building top to bottom with the idea the farms themselves could be home for a Maine product base with cheese, potatoes and beef.”
The thinking at the time, according to Denekas, was that Maine could benefit by combining its high-quality food with a branded image, much like what has already been done in the state with Stonewall Kitchen or in Vermont with Ben & Jerry’s.
“We know we can grow a quality potato in Aroostook County as well as Idaho, if not better,” he said. “But Idaho has really succeeded in marketing their brands.”
With an eye toward “value added,” Denekas said Pineland Farms decided to avoid the bagged whole potato markets and instead develop prepackaged diced and mashed potatoes at its processing facility in Mars Hill.
“We’ll run between 60 million and 70 million pounds of potatoes through that plant this year,” he said. “That plant supports 180 well-paying jobs with good benefits.”
The packaged potatoes are sold to Applebee’s, Walt Disney World, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans, Golden Corral and Hannaford grocery stores, according to Denekas.
“Sales are so good, we are having a hard time keeping up,” he said. “We doubled the capacity of the plant, and we may have to double it again.”
Pineland owns about 900 acres in St. Agatha currently in potato production, Denekas said, adding that the bulk of the spuds used in Mars Hill are purchased from farmers around central Aroostook County.
“It’s hard to say the total land base involved,” he said. “But I would guess we buy nearly 10 percent of the potato crop in Aroostook County.”
Nothing pairs with a good, Maine potato like a nice steak or roast, so in 1995, Pineland Beef was born.
“We started it as an alternative for our dairy farmers,” Denekas said. “We wanted to provide an outlet for farmers that have the farms, fields and barns for cattle [because] in Maine we have some of the best grass in the country for grazing despite our short growing season.”
Today, Pineland Beef purchases 30,000 head of cattle raised specifically for the company by farmers from around the state and other parts of New England.
“The niche we wanted was antibiotic-free and hormone-free cattle,” Denekas said. “People are more concerned about where their food comes from.”
Many of the purchased cattle end up traveling to Fort Fairfield where they are “finished” on a diet of Aroostook County barley and oats before being shipped to Pennsylvania for slaughter and processing.
“You will see our beef in restaurants in Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Los Angeles,” he said.
On the retail consumer side of things, Denekas said one of Pineland’s largest beef customers is Whole Foods, which carries the products in its stores from Maine to Virginia and west to Ohio.
Every bit of the cow is used either for human grade food, pet food or leather, Denaksis said.
Then there is Pineland Cheese, produced in a 13,000 square-foot creamery on the Pineland Farms New Gloucester campus.
Cheddar, feta, jack and baby Swiss cheeses are shipped out daily nationwide, Denekas said.
“We are making 800,000 pounds of cheese a year,” he said.
To make all that cheese, Pineland purchases 8 million pounds of milk annually from Maine dairy farmers.
“It is Maine cheese made from Maine milk from Maine cows,” Denekas said.
Eventually, beef, potatoes and cheese may come together in products such as prepared frozen shepherd’s pie, he said.
“We are always looking at value-added products,” Denekas said. “We look for new ways to present new versions of our existing products.”
The potential is huge, said Bill Haggett, CEO at Pineland Farms Potato Company and Pineland Farms Natural Meats.
“I’ve grown up in Maine and have been aware of the importance of potatoes grown in Aroostook County to the economy of the state,” he said. “When I got involved [with Pineland], I realized it was a tremendous opportunity to add value to a crop that is tied closely to the state of Maine [and] adding value to what’s grown in Aroostook County just seems to make a lot of sense.”
In addition to the beef on the hoof, Haggett said, Pineland also ships out cow manure from the Fort Fairfield cows to be used for compost and buys locally raised barley and oats to feed the cows.
“You really get an economic multiplier effect from having all that cattle in northern Maine,” he said. “There is a lot of spinoff.”
Denekas said Pineland directly employs close to 330 people among the potato, beef and cheese operations but also counts the close to 1,000 employees working at the 45 tenants from dentists to accountants housed on the New Gloucester campus when talking about economic impacts.
Much of what Pineland does, he said, is thanks to investments made by Libra, though the foundation has not done any in-depth, specific analysis of the economic impacts of those investments.
“One thing we do know for sure are those employment numbers,” Denekas said. “But as for other numbers, we have never studied the economic dollars and cents impacts.”
However, he did say Libra has made $100 million in investments into Pineland and its related projects over the last 15 years.
“That is pretty significant,” he said.
“We try to figure out the right way to invest our assets in areas we are interested in,” Denekas said. “It happens we are interested in the state of Maine and local food companies.”
While the Pineland Farm in New Gloucester operates as a nonprofit, Denekas stresses that the food operations are for-profit businesses.
In addition, he said Pineland voluntarily pays property taxes on its tax exempt, nonprofit real estate.
“We felt it is appropriate to do that,” Denekas said. “We make a point to pay our fair share.”
Also living on the New Gloucester farms are 160 Holstein dairy cows, 400 egg-laying chickens and two dozen horses that are part of Pineland’s equestrian program where future Olympic hopefuls train.
“The Libra Foundation got this idea to purchase this campus and turn it into a business park, and then they got the idea for sustainable agriculture here in Maine,” Brian Mailhot, Pineland’s director of marketing, said. “We see a lot of people come through our doors who learn about Maine food and how it is raised and grown.”
The farm is open year-round for guided and individual tours, he said. While there, visitors can nosh on breads, pastries, ice cream and cheeses made onsite using local ingredients from the farm.
Pineland also maintains miles of trails for running, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing and sponsors programs for military veterans’ adaptive sports.
“It’s really pretty cool down here,” Mailhot said. “There is always so much going on.”
