Robbie Irving holds up a few Caribou russets in early August, weeks prior to harvest. Photo: Zeke Jennings Jeff Irving heads Irving Farms Marketing, which has been instrumental in working with retailers and foodservice customers in building branding for Irving- and Maine-grown potatoes. Photo: Zeke Jennings Irving Farms is in the process of adding a 110-by-140-foot supplemental storage shed, which they hoped would be ready to store spuds this fall. Although relatively young to be co-owner of a farming operation, Robbie Irving - who won the Maine Potato Board's 2014 Young Farmer of the Year award - hasn't been shy about getting involved beyond his own acres. He's a current state potato board member and a National Potato Council voting delegate. The Irvings are proud of their product and their family's extensive farming history, but also of their close relationship with their fellow Maine potato growers. Robbie said that's common in agriculture, however. " Farmers go above and beyond to help each other, " he said. Spudman * November/December 2019 11