#farmerfridays: Cooper Hill Maple.
Seeing that it is a perfectly good (and snowy!) day to make a cup of something warm and catch up on local news, we are excited to post about Cooper Hill Maple, a family owned sugarhouse located in the Marathon area.
SVHC: How long have you been producing in Cortland County?
CHM: We have been producing pure maple syrup in our new facility owned by Cooper Hill Maple since the Spring of 2012.
SVHC: Your sugarhouse is beautiful, can you tell us a bit more about Cooper Hill Maple's development?
CHM: We have decided to take our backyard sugaring operation to new heights in a state of the art facility with top-notch equipment to provide a long-term source of income to sustain our 5 generation family farm.
SVHC: What type of maple products does Cooper Hill Maple offer?
CHM: We make pure maple syrup, maple cream, granulated maple sugar, maple coated peanuts, maple sugar shapes--and if you visit us on location or at a fair or festival--maybe some maple cotton candy!
SVHC: What has been your biggest joy as a local producer?
CHM: Our biggest joy has been to share our production story with visitors, both young and old.
SVHC: What has been your greatest challenge as a maple producer?
CHM: The biggest challenge for our farm is having everyone work full time at other jobs and also work the sugarbush and sugarhouse.
SVHC: If you could tell your community one thing, what would it be?
CHM: Maple syrup is the best natural sweetener for all your foods and drinks!
SVHC: How can the community purchase your goods or connect with you?
CHM: Please give Cooper Hill Maple a call! Also, you can always stop by when the steam is rolling from the sugar house. We will have two open house weekends in March during NY State Maple Weekend. (This is when the public can visit local sugarhouses to see how syrup and other maple products are made, taste samples, and meet the producers!) We will also be at the Central NY Maple Festival on April 7 & 8 and our products will be available in the Maple Museum that weekend. Plan to stop by if you can! And, since it is the busy season in maple production, we stay pretty active on Facebook--you can always connect with us on there!