b"Home GrownStephan Dolbec has expanded the family farm to make it a one stop shop from field to store.BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONGROWING UP ON the family farm, Stephan Dolbec wanted to be out in the fields constantly watching the potato crops grow. Staying inside to do homework was a struggle when hed rather be riding in the tractor with his father Herman.I like it a lot to see everything grow on the farm. When we plant in the spring, when you see it's good, it's nice to see the growing. I was very impressed by it when I was young, Stephan explains in a phone interview.There was no question what Stephan wanted to do when he grew upfarm. His parents, Herman and Francine, wanted to expand the farm but found themselves struggling to do so as they didnt speak English, so they sent Stephan to high school in Miami, Fla. Stephan returned to the farm when he was 17 and started helping to expand their sales into the U.S. Unfortunately, when he was 22 in 1994, he found himself taking over operations of the farm with his mother, after his father passed away in a car accident.When Stephan took over Patates Dolbec, they were farming 3,500 acres and harvesting over 2,000 acres of potatoes annually. Now Patatoes Dolbec has 10,000 acres and grows 4,000 acres of fresh potatoes annually in Saint-Ubalde, Que.making them the largest potato producer in the province. Over the years, Herman and Francine had grown and improved the farm, adding top of the line packaging equipment and buying more land, a legacy which Stephan continued. InStephan Dolbec is the president of Patates Dolbec in Saint-Ubalde, 2003, Stephan received the Ernst & Young Quebec EntrepreneurQue., the largest potato producer in Quebec.PHOTO: STEPHAN DOLBEC of the Year Award in the agri-food sector and a year later he purchased the farm from his mother. up on sales and market trends. He very much values his At Patates Dolbec they have 150 employees, grow their ownteam members ideas and input, and that each sector shares seed, rotational crops of corn, soybeans, oats and rye, andinformation with each other, so the team can make the best package their potatoes to sell them directly to retailers in theirdecisions for the company, Medynski says in a phone interview.own branded packaging year-round. They recently started aStephans teamwork push has paid off, with Patates Dolbec distillery, Ubald Distillerie, which makes potato vodka usingcontinuing to grow, from updating and expanding the packaging Patates Dolbecs misshaped potatoes, it also produces rye vodkalines to buying more land. They recently installed irrigation and gin using crops grown on the farm.infrastructure on 2,500 acres.Gord Medynski has worked at Patates Dolbec for 20 years asHis family has been there every step of the way, with his the director of sales, purchasing and business development. Hegirlfriend Josee Petitclerc who is the director of marketing for had previously worked as a wholesale purchaser buying potatoesPatates Dolbec and Ubald Distillerie, and his sons having started from Patates Dolbec, when he received a call from Stephanto work in the business. His oldest Zachary is working in business asking him to join the company. development, Thierry, the middle-aged son, is interested in the (Stephans) very much involved in the daily productionseed and farming side of the business, and his youngest Jrmy is planning and on the farm planning, but still enjoys keepingshowing interest in the sales side of the farm. 38SPUDSMART.COM Summer 2022"