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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 33 O C T O B E R 3 0 , 2 0 2 3 F O C U S FA M I LY - OW N E D B U S I N E S S "e last four or five years have been consistently losing-money years," Ricker says. "Wholesale apples is not easy. We planted and grafted a lot to honeycrisps over the last 20 years. If it weren't for honeycrisps, which pay much better than the old New England apple, we wouldn't be in it now. My family always been able to find something new and different to keep the old apple farm going. But it's not easy." Adding opportunities Becky and Steve Crane pushed their chil- dren to get college degrees before coming to Crane Brothers Farm Inc., a potato growing operation in the Penobscot County town of Exeter. "We want to push them away after high school and say, 'Do you really want to come back here or are you coming back because it's comfortable?'" Becky says. Crane Brothers goes back four generations. It's owned by Steve and his cousin Jim Crane. Steve and Jim took over from Steve's father, Neil Crane, and Jim's father, Vernon Crane, who passed away this past spring. Steve's son Matthew and Jim's son Ryan work on the farm and plans include the younger generation eventually taking ownership. Neil Crane, age 86, still works during planting and harvest. e farm is 1,700 acres of pota- toes and 2,200 acres of grain corn. Its potatoes have gone to Frito-Lay Inc. since the 1960s. In 2020, Becky and Steve bought Dragonfly Farm & Winery in nearby Stetson as another family-run oppor- tunity because the family works well together. Daughters Chelsea and Megan and their husbands Douglas and Ben moved home from careers in southern Maine to operate the busi- ness. On Saturdays, the tasting room is so busy that Becky, her husband, and their mothers all help. "If you can't depend on family, who can you depend on?" says Becky. Crane Brothers and Dragonfly, she says, don't feel like jobs: "It feels like we do this together with our families." Still, "If there comes a time that we don't have a generation that wants to take it over, we'll have to go from there," she says. "But so far, it's all good. And we've got little ones — Evan is 3 ½ and loves to ride the tractor." No sense of boredom Brigeen Farms was established in 1777 as a family-owned and -operated dairy farm in Turner. Steve and Mary Briggs and their daughter and son-in-law Betsy and Bill Bullard are the ninth and tenth generations to operate the 850-acre farm, which has 500 cows and grows corn and hay for silage. e Bullards obtained degrees in animal science and worked in agricul- ture before joining the farm in 2000 as an opportunity to work in a long- standing family business. MAHOOSUC GUIDE SERVICES Geiger Environmental Leadership Award HANCOCK LUMBER M&T Bank Innova on and Technology Award MAINE MED CLEANING SERVICE Horch Roofing First Genera on Award THE COTE CORPORATION Chalmers Insurance Group Customer Service Award GORHAM SAND & GRAVEL Shep Lee Community Service Award BRODIS BLUEBERRIES Maddy Corson Small Business Award PRATT ABBOTT GARMENT CARE Renys Large Business Award fambusiness.org BerryDunn Life me Achievement Award Janet Cole Cross CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2023 MAINE FAMILY BUSINESS AWARD WINNERS! Join MDF in congratulating our 2023 Champion Award recipients Their innovative and impactful approaches help drive economic improvement and improve lives Learn more at mdf.org 2 Beech Street, Suite 203 | Hallowell, ME | 207.622.6346 AWARDS Kenneth M. Curtis Award: (Leadership Maine Alum) Claudette Ndayininahaze, Allagash Class, Exec. Dir., In Her Presence Champion of Education & Workforce Development Award: Inclusion Maine and Founder, Muhammad Humza Khan Champion of Rural Economic Development Award: LP Building Products — Houlton and Ryan Bushey, Human Resources & Safety Mgr. ICL Distinguished Alum Award: Tony Payne, Beta Class, Senior VP, External Affairs, MEMIC President's Award: University of Maine System William F. King, Jr., Downtown Champion Award: Phyllis Young, Retired BOD Chair, Heart of Ellsworth Claudette Ndayininahaze Ryan Bushey Muhammad Humza Khan Tony Payne Phyllis Young C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » There are family farms in Maine that are doing really well, not by luck but through hard and thoughtful work about how they will continue to thrive. — Betsy Bullard Brigeen Farms P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F B R I G E E N FA R M S Steve and Mary Briggs and their daughter and son-in-law Betsy and Bill Bullard are the ninth and tenth generations at Brigeen Farms in Turner. Additional family, seen here, are Vivian Briggs, Sydney and Will; and Kate (Briggs) Teixeira and her family Alexis, Nichole, and JW and Chloe Chapman, who own and operate a dairy farm in Turlock, Calif.

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