Years ago Bertie Webster and some of his neighbours and friends took a chance on branching out from their potato farms and got into an emerging sector of the market at the time – washed table potatoes.
Together they founded Mid-Isle Farms Inc.
“We were young then – when you’re young you don’t think you’ve got much to lose,” said Webster.
Today, Mid-Isle ships P.E.I. potatoes throughout Eastern Canada and the New England States, it employs about 40 people annually and it moves, depending on the year, up to 60 million pounds of potatoes annually.
This year the company is celebrating its 35th anniversary, and to help mark the occasion it is holding a celebration at its head office today in Albany. The festivities, including games and entertainment, start at 10 a.m. and go until noon.
Brianna Flood, the company’s marketing co-ordinator, said everyone is welcome to attend, especially current and former employees.
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to celebrate such an amazing accomplishment,” said Flood.
Original founding members of the Mid-Isle Farms Inc. ownership group:
- Bertie Webster
- George Webster
- Elmer MacDonald
- Earle MacDonald
- Walter Wood
- Morley Wood
- John Robinson
- Alan Robinson
- John MacKay
- Harleigh MacKay
- Reggie Mulligan
- Robert Mulligan
- Ernest Mulligan
- Clifford Dawson
- Brian Dawson
Webster plans to be there. He had already scoped out some baby potatoes earlier in the week for a kids’ spoon race.
It will be nice to celebrate with everyone, he said, and he’s thankful the business is able to celebrate 35 years in the community.
When Mid-Isle was getting started, processing contracts were scarce. There were few other options for farmers other than the fresh market. But consumer demands were changing the marketplace from a traditional 50-pound bag of unwashed potatoes to a more grocery-store-ready option of 10-pound and five-pound bags of washed spuds.
As that group of farmers chatted about the changing market, they all realized they were going to have to make significant investments in storage, washing and packaging infrastructure. They decided it was a problem better approached as a group effort.
Everyone took an area of responsibility to research. Webster’s was the equipment itself, so he travelled North America looking at similar facilities.
“I had all the pieces of equipment in measurements and I had bristol board – I must have laid that line out 20 times until we got what we wanted,” he said.
They got the operation running the way they’d envisioned it – eventually.
There have been some bumps along the way though, said Webster, as the business, like most involved in the farming industry, is dependent on favourable weather producing a good, marketable crop.
“Growing potatoes isn’t for the faint of heart, I’ll tell you that. There are so many variables,” he said.
But despite all that, he wouldn’t trade his time with Mid-Isle away for something else.
“I’m proud of what we achieved – I’m glad we did it,” he said.
