b"A Career Dedicated to AgAfter a career spent working in agriculture, Kevin MacIsaac is retiring. BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONIT SEEMED FITTING to retire thisdairy business. They found themselves fall. On Oct. 1, 2011, Kevin MacIsaacturning to potatoes in 1993, which they was hired as the general manager forwere surrounded by in Prince Edward the United Potato Growers of CanadaIsland.(UPGC). At the time he wasnt sure he wasWe started into it, and just kept the right person for the job as he wasnt aexpanding each year. It was a very good numbers guy. time to enter because there was all sorts I was a little apprehensive when Iof room for expansion. Particularly the started because it's a number crunchingprocessing industry was really taking off, job some days. And I wasn't sure if I hadMacIsaac says.the strength, MacIsaac says in a phoneMacIsaac quickly became an integral interview. part of the potato industry, serving stints It worked out though, as MacIsaacas the chair of the Prince Edward Island learned the data and stayed with UPGCPotato Board and taking part on the for 10 years. processing committee.Just a Farm Boy Joining UPGCMacIsaac grew up on the family farm,When MacIsaac and his brother started Lily Pond Farms Ltd., in Bear River,making their succession plan, they P.E.I. Growing up, his family operated arealized they needed to start winding dairy and grains operation. He attendeddown their farming operation. This meant the Nova Scotia Agricultural College,they werent going to grow potatoes where he had originally planned to beanymore, but they would continue to a veterinarian. After not being acceptedfarm and grow other crops. MacIsaac then to the program, he turned his attentionreceived a call from UPGC. They were to crop science. He then attended thelooking for a new manager and thoughtKevin MacIsaac, retiring general manager of University of Guelph to finish his degree. he would be a good fit. the United Potato Growers of Canada.My classmates and I had lots of jobMacIsaac was well known from his days offers when we finished because theserving on the P.E.I. Potato Board and the industry was very much a boomingprocessing committee. He knew potato section in the crop areas, growing cornindustry people in other parts of thethe next 10 years he worked to improve and soybeans, all the inputs you use, forcountry from attending various meetings. UPGCs data collection and sharing. He marketing and so on, he says. He was more than just a grower. Healso cultivated the groups relationship He accepted a field crop specialistwas a guy that was qualified, but he iswith their American counterparts, the position in New Brunswick. While therea person who was who was qualifiedUnited Potato Growers of America. though he started to feel the call back toto review the data at the same timeHe certainly will be leaving the the farm and eventually found himselfand share it with his counterparts, RayUnited Potato Growers of Canada in a moving home to work on the family farmKeenan, chair of UPGC, explains in amuch better, much stronger position, and in 1984. phone interview. certainly I know the organizations across When his brother Blair moved home,MacIsaac decided to try the job for athe country have appreciated his work, they decided it was time to get out of theyear, and he never looked back. OverKeenan says. 28SPUDSMART.COM Fall 2021"