Dutchess County

It’s been quite an exciting couple of weeks for us here at Crown Maple Farm. First, we were featured on The Martha Stewart Show and this past Monday, it was Woman’s Day Magazine Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Mayhew telling the nation on NBC's Today Show about our pure maple syrup. Pinch me.

Elizabeth called our Dutchess County home “the perfect place weather-wise and climate-wise” for maple syrup and told Ann Curry and the audience about our “100% organic… absolutely delicious” light amber, medium amber and dark amber syrup. She even mentioned how we sustainably manage the farm. She was very kind.

I’m sure you’ve heard by now about the Nor'easter that blew through and buried parts of the mid-Atlantic and New England states under more than two feet of snow – it left millions without power, and we’re no exception here at Crown Maple Farm in Dutchess County, NY where we had a foot of the white stuff. The County has declared a state of emergency, and the governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts have done the same.

Things here are fine, though, all things considered, and we hope all of our neighbors are doing ok as well. The good news is the sugarhouse stayed warm due to the building’s insulation and radiant floor heating and now our back-up generator is running. The bad news is the phones and the Internet are down; if you call today you'll probably get our voice mail, but we're checking constantly. We're also still processing orders for our friends looking to buy pure maple syrup through our online store.

I had a great day yesterday. My sister Jessica and I were invited to the set of The Martha Stewart Show to watch a taping of her Nov. 30th episode that, among other things, featured Crown Maple Syrup! For a new company like ours, this was a very big deal.

The show’s producers were kind enough to seat us in the front row where we had a great view of how they put the show together. The set was amazing, with every inch decked out in a rich fall theme with colors and props. Not a detail was missing as you might expect from anything Martha touches.

I told Robb after the taping that I missed my calling in life. I would love to have a set like that to decorate and cook in! Although I don’t think I’d ever want to actually be on camera…

We received some exciting news this week. Crown Maple has been nominated by the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation (HVEDC) for three Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) Annual Business Awards under the categories of agriculture company, newcomer, and innovation.

I can’t tell you how pleased I am to announce you can now purchase Crown Maple Syrup – the purest maple syrup on Earth – in our online store.

In addition to opening bottles of Crown Maple Syrup, we may also crack open a few bottles of champagne to celebrate.

If you fish, chances are you know that spring is trout season. There are four ponds on Crown Maple Farm, and Robb and our youngest daughter, Ava, like to fish. They usually don’t catch much, but they have a great time anyway. Maddie and I just cook them and eat them. And we all enjoy trout at some of the local restaurants in Millbrook, near Crown Maple Farm in Dutchess County, New York.

Even if you don’t catch your own, trout is an excellent addition to your diet – and it tastes great with Crown Maple Syrup.