Maple Shorts: A Look at Vermont Maple In the News This Season
Local Maple Syrup Sweetens new Holy Halvah (August 2025)
Holy Halvah opened a new space in Bristol and offers their products around the region and the US. As reported by WCAX,
“Halvah is an old food. It comes out of the Middle East, the Balkans,” Holy Halvah owner Rebecca Freedner said. “It is primarily sesame-based, though there are some recipes that don’t use sesame at all.” In their commercial kitchen, the ancient food is made with a 21st-century twist.
Rebecca Freedner took her homemade halvah to farmers markets across Chittenden and Addison counties. Now, she’s upgraded to a commercial space big enough to allow her to fill tons of wholesale orders from all across the country. Freender says they’re one of very few companies in the United States making halvah. And, she believes they’re the only ones using maple syrup as a sweetener.”
Related WCAX coverage online here: https://www.wcax.com/2025/08/11/made-vermont-holy-halvah/
The New York Times: Peter Gregg on the Upper East Side
Many of you reached out this fall to let us know that Vermont’s own Peter Gregg (publisher of the Maple News) was highlighted in the New York Times in August as he was on the hunt for an apartment in New York. Peter, also the author of The Sugar Rush, is now co-located in New York and on his 1,00 tap sugarbush in Vermont. Did you get Peter to sign your copy of The Sugar Rush during Vermont Maple Conference Week?
Maple in Vermont’s Schools
The Abbey Group holds contracts for school meal programs across the state and, this summer, they joined Whitsons Culinary Group out of New York. Their joint announcement highlighted a commitment to local products, including maple syrup: “More than half of the products sourced by Whitsons and The Abbey Group come from local farms and producers. This school year, they have partnerships with local growers like Lambert Farm in Washington, VT, for regionally raised beef, as well as with several Vermont maple syrup producers, further connecting students to the area’s agricultural traditions.”
More coverage online here: https://bit.ly/mapleschool
NY Woman Accused of $100K Wisconsin Maple Syrup Theft
While this isn’t a Vermont story, it deserves a mention, if only as a cautionary tale to double check any online wholesale orders you receive. Last spring, a Wisconsin syrup producer was contacted through their website about the purchase of over $100,000 worth of maple syrup (the alleged purchaser claimed that there was an east coast shortage of syrup). The purchaser used fraudulent documents (impersonating an actual restaurant chain) to create legitimate looking purchase orders and ended up receiving shipment of the syrup, but never paying for it. They subsequently sold the syrup to other parties and are now accused of a Wisconsin Class F felony that carries a fine of up to $25,000, imprisonment of up to 12.5 years, or both. VMSMA receives regular emails from folks who claim to be representing large wholesale accounts for maple products. Many of these emails have misspellings or odd phrases (as noted in this Wisconsin case). We should all be cautious about responding to these and other odd emails or inquiries!
More coverage of this story online here: https://bit.ly/maplecrime
Maple Landmark Acquires Green Mountain Tap Handles
The Rainvilles are engaged members of the Addison County Sugarmakers Association and also owners of Maple Landmark, the Middlebury-based manufacturer of American-made wooden products. In August, they announced their acquisition of Green Mountain Tap Handles, of Hinsdale, NH, from founder Jason Gardner. Well known for American-made wooden toys, gifts, and custom wood products since 1979, Maple Landmark first ventured into tap handle production more than 20 years ago. Since then, the company has developed a dedicated line of handcrafted tap handles for breweries, cideries, and other beverage companies, earning a reputation for quality craftsmanship and responsive, customer service. Maple Landmark also makes the wooden holders for VMSMA’s temporary grading kits.
Read more online here: https://bit.ly/mapletaps
Researchers in Wyoming Discover Maple Compounds Fight Cavities
Compounds found in maple can inhibit the bacteria that cause cavities, according to a study published in August by University of Wyoming researchers. The study, titled “Maple polyphenols inhibit sortase and drastically reduce Streptococcus mutans biofilms,” was published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum. Funding for the study was provided by the New Mexico Start-Up Factory, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and UW’s Seed Translational Acceleration of Research (STAR) Project.
Read more online here: https://bit.ly/maplecavities
Rob Niles of Wild Woods Maple Wins Free Kubota Tractor
This fall, WCAX reported that Vermont’s own Rob Niles was honored by Kubota and the Farmer Veteran Coalition, which created the Geared to Give program to honor military veterans who now work in agriculture. Niles served the U.S. Army for more than 25 years and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and was also an instructor at the Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho. After he retired, Niles and his wife, Katie, started Wild Woods Maple and have been growing their family business ever since (an organic and bird friendly operation in East Hardwick).
Read the article online here: https://bit.ly/nileskubota
Silloway Maple and VT State University-Randolph Partner on the Maple Syrup Challenge
This September, Vermont State University Randolph hosted the second Annual Silloway Maple Syrup Challenge—a spirited cross country meet that now boasts a new twist: a hometown partnership with local maple producer Silloway Maple. VTSU has held the Maple Syrup Challenge for the past 14 years, and partnered with Silloway Maple for the last two. Twelve collegiate teams competed in this year’s challenge, making it one of the most anticipated early season meets in the region for the annual cross-country race (the variety of headlines noting this year’s Challenge are testament to its popularity!).
More details online here: https://bit.ly/maplechallenge
Dwight Miller Orchard Packing House Fire
The Commons newspaper out of Brattleboro reported on the fire at Dwight Miller Orchard this fall.
“Read and Malah Miller have been running the Dwight Miller Orchard for more than three decades, and they planned to start passing the operation on to his children this apple season. “This was going be a transition year for us," said Malah Miller. "We didn't expect it to be this way."
A three-alarm fire on Aug. 16 destroyed the orchard's packing house building that was home to their cold storage and produce coolers, their cider press and apple packing facilities, their retail area, and their maple evaporator and sugaring equipment.
"Everything went up in this building," said Read. "Everything except for the orchard is gone. This building was the brain, heart, and soul of all our functions."
Also lost were 25,000 gallons of apple cider vinegar, 1,000 gallons of maple syrup, and 400 quart jars of pickles that they had just finished making for this season.
"We have a lot of resources here on the farm, and a lot of people who want to help us rebuild," Read said. "We have the opportunity to stand on our forefathers' shoulders to rebuild, but we will need the help of our neighbors to do so."
The community stepped up for the Millers in a big way, donating nearly $97,000 to the orchard's GoFundMe appeal that was started by Martha. Contributions are still being accepted at gofundme.com/f/dwight-miller-orchards-fire-recovery.
Read the article online here: https://bit.ly/millerfire
Martha Stewart: Making Maple Last
VMSMA contributed information to an online Martha Stewart article about the best ways to store maple syrup to maintain quality. It’s information that bears repeating regularly to consumers so that, whenever they open that bottle of pure maple syrup, the last drop is as good as the first!
Maple Meets Texas BBQ
As part of their 2021 USDA funded project, Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) played matchmaker between Texas BBQ and Vermont Maple. We all know that the further away from Vermont we get, the less folks know about Vermont’s liquid gold. VAAFM worked with area pitmasters to incorporate Vermont maple into their recipes (for the first time!) and engage TX consumers with a contest that entered them to win a free trip to Vermont.
Read about the project here: https://www.maplemeetstexasbbq.com/
Vermont Historical Society New Maple Exhibit
In October, the Vermont Historical Society hosted an opening reception for a new maple exhibit (as part of their Freedom & Unity exhibit) that includes historical information, activities for visitors and a replica of a maple tree. VMSMA members Butternut Mountain Farm and Bragg Farm were sponsors of the exhibit.
Find WCAX coverage here: https://bit.ly/maplehistory
Branon Family Maple Orchard Makes News With Early Run
On November 6th, Branon’s were highlighted in an MSN online story about early sap runs in Vermont. Cecile noted that they were able to take advantage of some sap-favorable weather conditions and make some syrup in early November. We hope this bodes well for a good season!
Find the story here: https://bit.ly/earlysap
Farmlox Noted in VTDigger Article on Farm Technology
Longtime Vermont Maple Conference tradeshow participant Farmblox was highlighted in a November VTDigger article about updates to farm technology that improves efficiency.
Find the article here: https://bit.ly/maplefarmtech
CDL Acquires MES
Just before Thanksgiving, CDL announced it had acquired Maple Expert Solutions (MES) out of NH. MES was created in 2012 and is well known to many of you for creating ROs, fittings, releasers and vacuum pumps, among other equipment.