BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 28, 2023
The discovery of an illegal pesticide used at an Aroostook County broccoli farm has at least one producer worried the action could taint the industry. Emerald Valley Ranches of Caribou was ordered Monday to destroy much of its crop after state laboratory tests discovered the presence of an illegal pesticide on produce samples. “We wouldn’t wish ill to anyone, but it’s disappointing and disheartening if someone would jeopardize Maine broccoli,” said Emily Smith of Smith’s Farm, which grows 4,000 acres of broccoli from Maine to Florida. “If people decide not to eat broccoli because [a farm] did that, then our crop is in jeopardy when we didn’t do that.” Though potatoes remain Maine’s No. 1 food crop, followed by blueberries and hay, fresh broccoli has become a valuable product.