CARIBOU, Maine — In an era when most students do not work for potato farmers during their school’s harvest break, the agriculture program at Caribou Technology Center is seeing huge gains, turning Aroostook’s youth into farmers and skilled trades people.
This year 43 students from Caribou and surrounding school districts signed up for the program, so many that instructors had to turn several away to meet the 28-student limit.
That’s good news for Caribou, which hosts the only high school agriculture program north of Presque Isle, and has had farming classes in some form since the 1950s. It’s a success story for a county that has seen an exodus of its youth for several years and has made efforts to turn that trend around.
Instructor Scott Moir attributed the increased demand to just how much students are learning. Students don’t just work during harvest break. They grow and sell vegetables, learn welding techniques, purchase and repair equipment, learn to drive potato trucks and tractors and perform electrical maintenance — all essential skills for anyone going into an agricultural field or skilled trade, Moir said.
“When you’re a farmer, you have to be a mechanic, electrician and a salesman,” Moir said. “Our students learn a little bit of everything.”
And it’s not all about the classroom.
For the past four years, students have planted russet potatoes on eight acres of a 30-acre field provided by a local farmer. In late September and early October, they harvest their potatoes, load them into a truck and ship them to Penobscot McCrum’s french fry plant in Washburn, with which they have a yearly contract.
Students expect to earn at least $18,000 this year from the 170,000 pounds of potatoes they produced for Penobscot McCrum. That’s an increase from last year’s earnings of $16,000. All funds the students earn go toward program expenses, including new equipment and mechanical parts.
Caribou sophomore Hailey Mayne said that she and her classmates’ work in the potato fields mirrors that of actual farmers.
“If your machine breaks down, you have to fix it on the spot,” Mayne said.
Though Mayne previously worked at the farm of family relatives in middle school, she credits Caribou Tech’s program for sparking a greater interest in farming. She wants to one day open a therapeutic horse riding center, and is learning the ins and outs of managing a farm and caring for animals.
There are five tractors, three potato trucks, tillage equipment and two side-by-side vehicles that were either donated by local farmers or purchased through program funds inside and outside Caribou Tech’s garage. They also learn to take apart small engine motors and diagnose problems.
When they don’t have the right parts to fix equipment, students purchase what they need at nearby businesses. As they advance in their mechanical, welding, diesel hydraulics and electrical skills, students have become in-demand workers for local businesses.
“We have people asking about our students all the time,” Moir said. “They can go on to become parts mechanics and salespeople. We’ve seen students graduate and work at small engine shops, lawn care businesses, welding shops and any sort of agriculture business.”
Students’ interests span beyond the agricultural and mechanical fields.
Caribou senior Westley LaPointe said that the electrical maintenance skills he has learned will better prepare him for starting that same program at the local community college next year.
“I like that the program covers everything in the trades,” LaPointe said. “I work for a farmer, so agriculture is an option, but I definitely want to do an electrical program.”
As Caribou’s agriculture program grows, Moir and Caribou Tech Director Ralph Conroy are seeking grant funds to build a larger equipment storage building. The program has outgrown its facility, and students will need more space to work on equipment during the winter, Moir said.
It’s a good problem to have for a program that will likely continue seeing a boost in part due to the pandemic, Conroy said.
“Many people are looking back to their roots and starting backyard gardens,” Conroy said. “We’ve always had agriculture classes at Caribou High and we’re definitely seeing more interest now.”
