The Maine Potato Board has awarded the Maine Potato Industry Recognition Award to Gregory Porter, a University of Maine professor and Aroostook County native. Porter, who grew up on a potato farm, has dedicated his 38-year career at UMaine to enhancing potato production in the eastern United States, as Alexis Wells reports for Mainebiz.
Porter’s research focuses on crop and soil management practices aimed at improving the yield and quality of potatoes and other crops. Over the past decade, he has released five potato varieties in collaboration with the Maine Potato Board, including the highly successful Caribou Russet, which had an estimated cash farm value of approximately $41 million in 2022.
Porter has led the university’s potato breeding program since 2007, enabling student researchers to develop new potato varieties that offer improved quality and marketing opportunities for growers while addressing pest management issues. His contributions to the field have earned him several awards, including an Honorary Life Membership Award from the Potato Association of America and the new UMaine Presidential Innovation Award.
Porter is set to receive the award later this month.
Source: Mainebiz. Read the full story here
Photo: Greg Porter. Credit University of Maine
