Farmers Market: Maple Syrup
Most of the year, Dennie and Linda Davis live in Wisconsin with their three children.
But for a few weeks, they’re on the move and sleep in a vehicle.
Every summer the family packs into a 32-foot camper and drives to Nebraska. They carry gallons of maple syrup and visit a handful of farmers markets.
From the gathering to the packaging to the trips across the Midwest, it can be a bumpy road. But nobody complains.
"When you start out in the spring, everyone's all excited about doing it, because you're cooped up in the winter," Dennie said. "And winters are long in Wisconsin."
Dennie and his wife began making syrup in 1993. During the day, Dennie worked as a contractor and Linda as an elementary school teacher. But at home, they had a little bit of land and a lot of maple trees.
They decided to make a treat for their family. When spring rolled around, they gathered sap in a washtub and boiled it over an open fire. Eventually the hobby turned into a business, and they called it the Davis Family Sugar Shack.
The children each had jobs when they got they older.
"It's definitely hard work doing it," Linda said. (The kids) all carry buckets, drive the tractor and help bottle and label."
It takes six weeks to collect and boil enough sap. One gallon of syrup takes 40 gallons of sap.
When harvesting is finished, the family hits the highways of the Midwest looking for places to sell its product.
A few summers ago, they drove into Nebraska to visit relatives. They spotted a farmers market in Beatrice along the way, and they set up their own booth after receiving permission.
"The people were just overwhelming," Dennie said."They just swamped our table with questions."
Customers told the family about the Haymarket Farmers Market in Lincoln, and the Davises have set up a booth there ever since. They hang around until their supply runs out, which usually takes about three weeks.
Prices vary with the market. This summer Dennie wandered through stores and found 12-ounce bottles tagged at $9.
He and his family have been selling 16-ounce bottles for $7, and people have responded.
But low prices aren’t the only hook.
"At the store, if you look closely, the ingredients have corn syrup, high fructose and a lot of other stuff," Davis said. "You get down to the bottom, and it says '2 percent maple syrup.'
"One hundred percent maple syrup is going to taste better. People will stop to give it a taste, and they're usually convinced they can't live life without it."
This year, the Davises brought 170 gallons of syrup to Nebraska. They visited markets in Beatrice and Lincoln, and they stayed in Seward for the Fourth of July.
After a busy three weeks, Dennie and his crew are planning to return to Wisconsin this week. But they'll be back next year with more syrup.
And they'll be living in a vehicle along the way.
"Once you get out there in the fields, it's drudgery," Dennie said. "Then get packed up, and you go to water parks and all the different towns and markets. It's all worth it in the end."
Reach Michael McHale at 473-7254 or at mmchale@journalstar.com
Here are tips from Dennie Davis on how to make your own maple syrup:
—In the spring, drill a hole in a maple tree with a 7/16- or ½-inch drill bit.
—Pound in a tap or collection spout.
—Collect sap — it takes about 40 gallons to make 1 gallon of syrup (one tap hole produces 10-12 gallons of sap per season.)
— Boil several gallons of sap in outdoor wood stove to evaporate water. Add more sap as water boils away.
—Syrup boils at 7 degrees above the boiling point of water. Boiling should be controlled as temperature reaches this point.
—Filter hot syrup through suitable wool or orlon filter.
—Syrup should be packaged at 185 degrees to sterilize container.
But for a few weeks, they’re on the move and sleep in a vehicle.
Every summer the family packs into a 32-foot camper and drives to Nebraska. They carry gallons of maple syrup and visit a handful of farmers markets.
From the gathering to the packaging to the trips across the Midwest, it can be a bumpy road. But nobody complains.
"When you start out in the spring, everyone's all excited about doing it, because you're cooped up in the winter," Dennie said. "And winters are long in Wisconsin."
Dennie and his wife began making syrup in 1993. During the day, Dennie worked as a contractor and Linda as an elementary school teacher. But at home, they had a little bit of land and a lot of maple trees.
They decided to make a treat for their family. When spring rolled around, they gathered sap in a washtub and boiled it over an open fire. Eventually the hobby turned into a business, and they called it the Davis Family Sugar Shack.
The children each had jobs when they got they older.
"It's definitely hard work doing it," Linda said. (The kids) all carry buckets, drive the tractor and help bottle and label."
It takes six weeks to collect and boil enough sap. One gallon of syrup takes 40 gallons of sap.
When harvesting is finished, the family hits the highways of the Midwest looking for places to sell its product.
A few summers ago, they drove into Nebraska to visit relatives. They spotted a farmers market in Beatrice along the way, and they set up their own booth after receiving permission.
"The people were just overwhelming," Dennie said."They just swamped our table with questions."
Customers told the family about the Haymarket Farmers Market in Lincoln, and the Davises have set up a booth there ever since. They hang around until their supply runs out, which usually takes about three weeks.
Prices vary with the market. This summer Dennie wandered through stores and found 12-ounce bottles tagged at $9.
He and his family have been selling 16-ounce bottles for $7, and people have responded.
But low prices aren’t the only hook.
"At the store, if you look closely, the ingredients have corn syrup, high fructose and a lot of other stuff," Davis said. "You get down to the bottom, and it says '2 percent maple syrup.'
"One hundred percent maple syrup is going to taste better. People will stop to give it a taste, and they're usually convinced they can't live life without it."
This year, the Davises brought 170 gallons of syrup to Nebraska. They visited markets in Beatrice and Lincoln, and they stayed in Seward for the Fourth of July.
After a busy three weeks, Dennie and his crew are planning to return to Wisconsin this week. But they'll be back next year with more syrup.
And they'll be living in a vehicle along the way.
"Once you get out there in the fields, it's drudgery," Dennie said. "Then get packed up, and you go to water parks and all the different towns and markets. It's all worth it in the end."
Reach Michael McHale at 473-7254 or at mmchale@journalstar.com
Here are tips from Dennie Davis on how to make your own maple syrup:
—In the spring, drill a hole in a maple tree with a 7/16- or ½-inch drill bit.
—Pound in a tap or collection spout.
—Collect sap — it takes about 40 gallons to make 1 gallon of syrup (one tap hole produces 10-12 gallons of sap per season.)
— Boil several gallons of sap in outdoor wood stove to evaporate water. Add more sap as water boils away.
—Syrup boils at 7 degrees above the boiling point of water. Boiling should be controlled as temperature reaches this point.
—Filter hot syrup through suitable wool or orlon filter.
—Syrup should be packaged at 185 degrees to sterilize container.
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