By Barbara Scott
Staff Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Potato Council, including Steve Crane, NPC president, from Exeter, recently recognized Sen. Susan Collins for her work to prevent implementation of federal regulations that would have harmed Maine’s potato industry. During a meeting in Washington, D.C., Sen. Collins also greeted Brandon Berce of St. Agatha, Maine’s Young Farmer of the Year for 2012. Brandon’s parents, Ned and Carol, own Berce Farms.
Contributed photo
Brandon Berce of St. Agatha, Maine’s 2011 Young Farmer of the Year, was greeted by Sen. Susan Collins during a recent meeting of the National Potato Council in Washington, D.C.
Last year, Sen. Collins successfully championed an amendment to the 2012 Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding bill that protects the flexibility of schools to serve healthy vegetables, including the white potato, in the national school lunch and breakfast programs. USDA had originally proposed a rule that would have limited servings of certain vegetables, including white potatoes, green peas, lima beans and corn, to a total of one cup per week in the school lunch program and would have banned these vegetables from the breakfast program altogether.
“As a native of Aroostook County, I fully understand the importance of Maine’s potato industry to both our local and state economy,” said Sen. Collins. “I am incredibly proud to have been the potato’s champion in Washington,” she added.
