Maple syrup producer expresses love for the trade

A maple syrup producer in the state of Ontario in Canada has reflected on why his chosen career remains such a joy.

Hunter – who, along with his wife Ann, operates an award-winning maple syrup business – began making organic maple syrup as a social pastime that connected him with neighbours. Years later, he oversees an operation that puts hundreds of litres on the shelves each year.

After moving to the forested region of Loring, Hunter was drawn to the neighbourhood sugar shack where community members would regularly gather to talk and boil sap.

Lifting the lid on daily life in Canada’s maple syrup industry, Hunter told the Métis Nation of Ontario website:

“Making maple syrup is my communion with nature. It’s for my mental health. We’re out in the woods year-round, maintaining the forest, repairing equipment, and taking care of the lines. Somehow this kind of work doesn’t feel like work – it feels like therapy.”

Hunter’s farm uses a valley system that is entirely natural in which sap travels downhill in tubing, reducing environmental footprint by negating the need for mechanical systems to move sap.

The Loring-Restoule region is dotted with family-run maple syrup businesses. These small operations typically manufacture other products such as maple sugar and candies, selling their products at farmers’ markets, local stores and online.

Loring is also home to the Deer Yard trail system, which features picturesque trails that wind their way around the area’s wetlands, providing an excellent wildlife spotting opportunity.