Happy Acres Farm

“Sugaring season provides us with 'liquid gold' and we are happy to share it with our customers!”

In December of 1944, Jim's family moved up from Connecticut and bought the farm... lock, stock and barrel. As their family grew, it became apparent that they needed to supplement the milk check from the cows with another source of income. On the property, there were many Sugar Maple trees and an old sugarhouse. So, in 1948 they tapped those trees and put out 1000 buckets. All the family members took part in the gathering of sap. A gallon of syrup cost $2.50 at this time, as there were government controls on the price.

To increase the sugaring operation's efficiency, Jim changed to tubing instead of buckets in the late 70's. He increased the number of taps to 3500. A new sugarhouse, constructed by the family with logs from the land, was erected, and a large evaporator was purchased to handle the increase in the volume of sap.

Maple syrup is made in March and April when there is often snow on the ground. We need cool nights (18-20 degress) and warm days (35-40 degrees) for the maple sap to run well. As always, we use a wood-fired evaporator to boil the sap to make the maple syrup. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Syrup is graded according to color and flavor.

Talk with you soon,

Jim and Sandy