About The Vermont Maple Farmers Collective

We are a collective of small family farms in the hills of Vermont. We live on dairy farms, vegetable farms, and flower farms. We raise animals and we operate sawmills. We are carpenters, plumbers, and stonemasons. Crafting small-batch pure Vermont maple syrup is our common link and our passion.

We farm independently, but we sell collectively under the same 'Maple Farmers' label. We use some modern technologies to improve efficiency, but our maple sugaring operations are small and traditional. We fuel with firewood instead of fuel oil. As farmers who are connected to our land, we work hard to ensure that our maple syrup production is sustainable for generations to come.

The maple industry is changing and there is a lot about it that has us concerned. The latest trends are toward huge operations that use high-brix reverse osmosis, steam boilers, and oil-fired evaporators to produce bulk syrup. It's tough for small farms to compete in a world of impersonal factory farms. Maple sugaring has been a steady source of farm income for generations, but mass consolidation is putting that at risk.

Our small farm families take pride in making the best pure Vermont maple syrup available. It’s what maple syrup should taste like. Give it a try!

why we do it

I started this business for two purposes: to help small maple farmers compete in the emerging online maple marketplace, and to offer the most delicious, single-source, farm-crafted Vermont maple syrup.

I'm passionate about maple syrup. It's in my blood, as the saying goes.  I look forward to the late February weather with as much anticipation as our puppy waiting for her morning kibbles. But as I watch the maple syrup industry evolve, I realize that the modern production methods are changing the flavor of the product. Maple syrup is becoming highly processed and homogenized. The trend toward factory farms is also driving out the smallest producers, many of whom have been crafting syrup for generations. The threat to flavor and farmers is real; I want to see small family farms continue to thrive. 

The farmers that I work with were missing the wave of on-line sales. They were even getting pushed out of the low-paying bulk syrup market at the same time. They were losing accounts to large businesses, and the pandemic wreaked havoc on their direct sales. Something had to be done before it was too late.

Maybe I'm nostalgic, but I want to see those small farms continue the spring tradition of maple sugaring. Sugar houses should be filled with firewood and steam. Family, neighbors, and visitors should be celebrating the end of the long, cold winter. I'm not talking about collecting sap on horse drawn sleds; I'm talking about factory farms not being the new norm. Retaining the maple sugaring tradition on small farms hinges on economic viability.

Try some of our pure Vermont maple syrup. You’ll taste the difference. And your purchase will truly support small family farms.

Cory Krieg