Two Aroostook County potato processors will benefit from a new state law that is meant to help foster expansion and job creation.
The law, An Act to Promote Food Processing and Manufacturing Facility Expansion and Create Jobs, will provide tax credits to Aroostook potato processors starting this fall. The financial incentives will help cover a recent expansion at Penobscot McCrum, which added a new production line and 90 workers, and support the launch of the Taste of Maine Potato Chip Co. plant in Limestone, which will employ up to 100 people.
On a tour of northern Maine last week that included the opening of a new Aroostook Farm research lab in Presque Isle and the Maine Potato Blossom Festival parade in Fort Fairfield, Gov. Janet Mills visited the Penobscot McCrum processing plant in Washburn to celebrate the legislation.
Mills joined Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner Amanda Beal, state legislators, and potato industry representatives in Washburn Friday for a ceremonial signing of the bill.
“This more generous tax incentive program will benefit this facility, which currently employs 145 people,” Mills said. “The expanded bill will also benefit the Taste of Maine company, which is constructing a new potato chip factory in the Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone. That’s the largest economic investment at Loring in more than a decade.”
The new law increases the refundable tax credit from 1.8 percent to 2 percent for investments made over 20 years starting in 2027, Mills said.
Among other points, the new law also allows companies to be in business for a year before requiring them to employ at least 40 people. A previous tax credit rule, enacted in 2019, required businesses to have 40 employees at startup.
The law also doubles the eligible investment for which companies can receive the tax credit, from $100 million to $200 million.
Penobscot McCrum’s Nick McCrum was among family members present at the signing. He expressed appreciation to the legislators and Mills for their work on the bill and support of the potato industry.
“The investment in the companies is huge. “Expansions are tough, but anytime the potato industry needs something, you’ve always had our back,” he said. “It’s just so important to the most rural parts of the state.”
Supporting research, processing and workforce development in Aroostook is a “powerful investment” in Maine, Beal said after the ceremonial signing.
Maine Potato Board Executive Director Jeannie Tapley called the law a major win for the state’s number one food product, adding it builds on prior efforts to boost the processing sector and the entire industry.
“Maine has a well-earned reputation for high-quality agricultural products, and this updated investment will allow us to expand markets, increase acreage and support local economies for generations to come,” Tapley said.
Taste of Maine started work on its $55 million plant in June.
Washburn Town Manager Donna Turner was among those who supported the bill this spring before the Joint Committee on Taxation.
She recalled favoring the 2019 legislation, hoping it would enable the McCrum family to build a processing facility in the town and help save the local economy, she wrote in her May 16 testimony.
Six years ago, the town of about 1,700 was “a sinking ship,” Turner said. The high school and recreation department were at risk of closing, “for sale” signs lined Main Street and the population was shrinking. Since Penobscot McCrum opened and introduced new jobs, the town has seen families move in, building new homes, shopping locally and attending local schools.
“These companies need these tax credits to continue creating jobs and supporting communities like ours,” Turner wrote.
Sen. Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, sponsored the bill, supported by Sen. Sue Bernard, R-Caribou, and Republican Reps. Joseph Underwood of Presque Isle, Gregory Swallow of Houlton, Donald Ardell of Monticello, Mark Babin of Fort Fairfield, Timothy Guerrette of Caribou, Roger Albert of Madawaska and Lucien Daigle of Fort Kent.
The bill received bipartisan support in both houses, and Mills signed it into law on July 3.
At Friday’s ceremony, the governor noted the McCrum family’s farming legacy.
“When Lemuel McCrum and his wife, Ada, arrived in Mars Hill nearly 140 years ago and began farming while raising their 14 children, I wonder if they ever dreamed that they were beginning a legacy that would last more than six generations and leave an indelible mark on the potato industry and the state of Maine,” Mills said.
