Talking Sugaring with Jenna, Jacob and the Syrup Daddy at Baird Farm: EP42

Today’s episode comes to you from Chittenden Vermont where we visit with Baird Farm. If you’ve heard of them you may recognize that they are NOT a diversified vegetable farm. They are a medium scale maple producer with about 15,000 taps. Vermont is known for its maple but what makes them unique is that 90% of their volume is sold directly to the consumer. They lean heavily on online sales, and agritourism for their retail business.

Like most of my shows the first hour features a walking tour where Jacob and Jenna provide an overview of maple production and what it looks like on their farm. We walk to the woods to see some trees and sap lines, pop our heads in a pump house then tour seeing the sugar house which includes the bottling room and retail area. Once we’ve gotten the lay of the land we then pull up a stool in the farm stand. Jenna’s Dad, Bob, also known as the Syrup Daddy joins us for the conversation to share some insights to his history of Vermont agriculture and how it’s transitioned over the years into the business it is today.