Howard Culberson & Sons in New Brunswick: History, What It Grows, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Howard Culberson & Sons is a family potato farm at Jacksonville, New Brunswick, named the 2015-2016 McCain Champion Potato Grower for Florenceville-Bristol. The farm has grown potatoes for McCain for 32 years and placed in the Top 10 twelve times.
| Location | Jacksonville, New Brunswick |
|---|---|
| Family | Howard Culberson, son Blair, and grandsons Ryan and Paul |
| Sectors | Processing potatoes under contract to McCain Foods |
| Scale | Acreage not published in the source reviewed |
| Why it is elite | 2015-2016 McCain Champion Potato Grower; 12 Top 10 placings in 32 years |
| Ownership | Culberson family, three generations |
| Official website | PotatoPro: Howard Culberson & Sons named Champion Potato Grower |
History of Howard Culberson & Sons
Howard Culberson & Sons is a three-generation potato farm at Jacksonville, in Carleton County. Howard Culberson, his son Blair and Blair's sons Ryan and Paul were named the 2015-2016 McCain Champion Potato Grower for Florenceville-Bristol at the 43rd annual McCain Growers' Banquet on August 24 at the Northern Carleton Civic Centre.
By then the farm had been growing potatoes for McCain for 32 years and had made the Top 10 twelve times. The prize was a trophy, a $1,000 cheque and a trip for two. Ryan credited the win to good ground, which he described as well-drained heavy soil, a good rotation and Mother Nature.
What Howard Culberson & Sons Grows and Raises
The farm grows processing potatoes for McCain Foods. According to the award report, growers are scored throughout the year on size, gravity, defects and colour, and the Top 10 are chosen on their overall scores at the end of each crop year. The farm's strategy, in the family's words, is built on drained heavy soil and disciplined rotation.
The source does not list acres, equipment or other crops. Carleton County is New Brunswick's main potato district, and Potatoes New Brunswick reports about 50,000 acres of potatoes province-wide across about 200 farms.
How Howard Culberson & Sons Makes Money
Long-term processor relationship
Thirty-two years of supplying one processor means the farm sells to a known buyer at known specifications. Contract terms are not public, so this page does not state prices or volumes.
Quality-based standing
Twelve Top 10 finishes show the farm repeatedly scores well on size, gravity, defects and colour. A strong standing helps a grower keep a place in the contract book.
Soil advantage
The family points to well-drained heavy soil and a good rotation. Land with those traits lowers risk from wet-weather harvest and disease, which supports steady marketable yield.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Howard Culberson & Sons
Know your ground. The family names drainage and rotation as the base of success, which suggests that tile drainage, rotation planning and soil testing are worth the investment before buying new equipment.
Longevity is an asset. A farm with three generations in the field and 32 years of contract history has accumulated records and relationships that new entrants can only build slowly.
A farm that has landed in a processor's Top 10 a dozen times has clearly mastered the art of the consistent potato. At farm.FM we are devoted to farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, and a Jacksonville family with heavy drained soil and three generations of spud wisdom gets friendly ribbing about tuber scorecards and gravity jokes. We say it with a handshake and a hot dish.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
How to Contact Howard Culberson & Sons
Website: https://potatopro.com/node/78862
No Howard Culberson & Sons website was found in search results. This page links to a public trade report on the farm. Confirm contact through local Carleton County agriculture offices or McCain grower relations.
Howard Culberson & Sons Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- PotatoPro: Howard Culberson & Sons named Champion Potato Grower - 2016 report on the McCain Champion Grower award
- Agriculture New Brunswick: potatoes - Provincial potato sector information
- Potatoes New Brunswick: info bites - Acres, farms and seed share of the industry
- Statistics Canada: New Brunswick in the 2021 Census of Agriculture - Province farm numbers and revenue by farm type
- Review of Agriculture 2022 - Farm cash receipts for potatoes and other commodities
Howard Culberson & Sons FAQ
Where is the farm?
Jacksonville, New Brunswick.
What award did it win?
The 2015-2016 McCain Champion Potato Grower for Florenceville-Bristol.
How long has it grown for McCain?
32 years at the time of the award, with 12 Top 10 placings.
How are growers scored?
On size, gravity, defects and colour throughout the year, per the award report.
Howard Culberson & Sons is one example of New Brunswick's contract potato growers in the Saint John River valley. Read the New Brunswick farms guide for soils, markets and programs behind the province's potato industry.