Sweetness in the sugar bush

A meditation on maple sugaring

By SANDY LONG

NEWFOUNDLAND, PA — You don’t have to journey far to find family-produced, organically certified, sustainably harvested maple syrup. At Journey’s End Farm, the Curtis family has produced maple syrup since 1934, and recently hosted a Maple Sugaring Field Day in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Women’s Agricultural Network (PA-WAgN) to teach others about how it’s done.

In spite of classic spring thaw conditions, participants tackled mud, brambles, snow flurries and gusting winds while collecting firewood, harvesting sap, learning how to manage a sugar bush, equip a sap house and boil, evaporate and grade syrup. The tapping season typically runs from mid-February to late April and is a time of intense physical labor and long hours of syrup production.

Today, Kristin Curtis runs the farm with sons Jason, Ira and Andy, and the assistance of other family members and friends. Their work is guided by the philosophy that “We should not take more from the earth than we need, and what we do take should be used to its fullest extent.”

PA-WAgN’s Ann Stone applauded the commitment of women like Curtis who create fresh approaches to farming. “Women in agriculture are doing it differently, using sustainable methods, on smaller scales with less mechanization,” she said. The organization provides support and educational opportunities to women working in agriculture with workshops, conferences, networking, mentoring and programs on business planning, farm management and more.

Journey’s End farm transforms into a children’s camp during the summer season, where campers gain a better understanding of “who they want to be, how their actions impact the world and what they are truly capable of.”

For additional information about the farm or camp, visit www.journeysendfarm.org or call 570/689-3911. To learn more about PA-WAgN, visit wagn.cas.psu.edu or contact Stone at ams39@psu.edu.

In New York, which boasts 1,500 maple producers, the industry will host its 13th Annual Maple Weekend on March 29th and 30th. Visit mapleweekend.com or prideofny.com for more information.