Green Thumb Farms launches Farmer’s First, a new program to introduce unique spuds to the market

(Fryeburg, Maine) – November 15, 2019

Green Thumb Farms launched a new program this fall to discover and develop new potato varieties. The goal of “Farmer’s First” is two-fold: to give retailers a way to offer something new and to give consumers new products that work well in their kitchens.

Every year, Green Thumb will partner with a retailer to identify a potato variety they think their customers will love. Then Green Thumb will grow the variety in the farm’s exceptional soil, nutrients for plants and microclimate to ensure that they can successfully cultivate that particular variety.

With the Farmer’s First program, retailers can track the success of specific varieties through sell rates and UPC codes, and Green Thumb can gather customer feedback so they know what people like and want in their potato.

“There has been a food revolution in Maine and around the world,” said Mike Hart, director of sales and marketing at Green Thumb. “We’ll always bring Cold River Gold, our signature potato to market, but we’re also committed to cultivating new varieties and driving innovation in the industry.”

For the inaugural year of the Farmer’s First program, Green Thumb partnered with Hannaford to develop the Queen Anne potato, a variety that’s new to this region. The Queen Anne has a smooth, bright yellow skin that’s thin and resistant to bruising. Most yellow potatoes are round, but the Queen Anne is oblong, which makes it ideal for baking, easy to peel for mashed potatoes, and perfect to cut into steak fries. While this variety doesn’t have the starch and sugar content to perform well in oil, they make an exceptional oven fry (baked in the oven) and they brown up nicely as hash browns.

Queen Anne is currently grown in Maine exclusively by Green Thumb Farms and sold only at Hannaford stores in New England. Two-pound bags of Queen Anne are now available through the holidays – just look for the Farmer’s First label.

Green Thumb Farms is a 2,200-acre farm nestled in the heart of the Mount Washington Valley in Fryeburg, Maine. A third-generation family business, their agricultural roots lie in the production of the highest quality potatoes – from seed selection to harvest – while state-of-the-art technology ensures that only the best potatoes go into every bag.

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2 Comments

  1. Are your Cold River Gold potatoes GMO??

    Thanks,

    Maureen

  2. Hi Maureen,
    The Cold River Golds are not GMO. Stay well!

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