Hamlin sits at the far northern edge of Maine, where the St. John River marks the line with New Brunswick and the land rises in long, open fields. This is Aroostook County, the potato country of the Northeast: a short, bright growing season, cold winters that rest the soil, and a valley that has grown potatoes for as long as anyone here can remember.
Ayotte Farms was established in 1961. More than sixty years on it is still a family operation, run today by Scott Ayotte with his family and a small year-round crew, joined by seasonal hands at planting and harvest. The equipment has changed and the customers have changed; the way the work is done has not. Grow a clean, consistent crop. Put it into storage in good condition. Deliver what was promised.
That approach has been noticed. In 2016 McCain Foods placed the farm third among its Top 10 Growers, a recognition that comes from the quality of what is delivered, load after load, through a whole season.