Qualey elected USPB chairman

By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
    SHERMAN – Members of the United States Potato Board (USPB) recently elected Maine chip stock grower Tom Qualey from Sherman as its chairman — an honor last bestowed upon a Mainer more than two decades ago.
    During the United States Potato Board’s (USPB) annual meeting, Qualey was elected chairman for 2009-10.
    “At the National Potato Council’s (NPC) winter meeting in January, the executive committee nominated me as chairman-elect, but under USDA rules, I had to be elected by the full board,” said Qualey. “Coming from a small growing state, it’s a challenge because I have to have the unanimous vote of all the growing areas which is mostly from the Northwest.
    “At the USPB’s annual meeting March 13, I was elected from the floor, which consists of 100 growers representing the entire country,” he said. “I am absolutely excited to serve. It’s been a long time since there’s been a chairman from Maine.”
    This is Qualey’s sixth year on the USPB. He said his goal is to continue working on the organization’s long range plan.
    “The USPB has a long range plan … they do one every five years,” said Qualey. “It’s a well-set plan, and I have no more of an agenda than to keep that moving ahead. I enjoy people and I want to travel to as many potato-growing areas as I possibly can. I want to hear from growers, and I think it’s important that as I chair this committee, the growers get the most bang for their buck. I want to make sure that we – at the USPB – fully understand what their needs are and I’m going to try to fill them.”
    Qualey’s first appearance as the USPB chairman was at the 23rd annual Maine Potato Board meeting and dinner.
    “I am amazed at the amount of growers that I actually have gotten to know over the years,” he said. “I very much enjoy talking to people and getting to know them.”
    Since 1981, Qualey and his brother, John, have owned and operated Three Oak Farms in Sherman.
    “I’m a fifth-generation farmer,” said Qualey, who grew up on a dairy farm. “We’re 1,000-acre operation. We’ve been as high as 600 acres; we’re down around 340 acres last year. We don’t know where we’ll be this year. We also grow canola, hay, small grains, barley, oats and have even dabbled with soybeans. We try any secondary crop that will work.
    “When my family first emigrated from Ireland during the early 1800s,” he said, “they established themselves on the land and each generation has continued our farming tradition.”
    Qualey said he never thought he’d be the chairman of the national potato organization.
    “It might have been a dream a long time ago,” he said. “I’m very excited about it, and continue to look forward to meeting a lot of great people.”
    Qualey currently serves on the Maine Board of Pesticide Control, the Integrated Pest Management Council, and the Executive Council of the Maine Potato Board. He is  past MPB president and the Agricultural Bargaining Council, and a past director of MPG.            Qualey and his wife, Linda, have two daughters, Meagan and Erin, and three granddaughters, Taylor, Cameron, and Addison.
    The only other person from Maine to serve as USPB chair was Arnold Roach of Smyrna Mills who served in 1991-92.