Local Product Highlight: Willis Family Maple Farm, Maple Syrup
The Willis Family Maple Farm owns and operates their small business in the Northwoods of Iron River, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. Aside from syrup, they offer a variety of delicious delicacies such as maple candied nuts. They locally harvest and formulate all of these products to bring you 100% natural maple products. They declared their syrup USDA certified organic in 2021 and harvest it from their own Sugar Maple trees. This ensures a high quality product produced in an environmentally sustainable way!
It started with just a few tapped trees in the driveway collecting sap in buckets. They kept the buckets cold in a snowbank, then boiled it all in a large pot. Nevertheless, they decided that wasn’t hard enough, so in 2018 the family expanded their sugaring operation from 12 taps to 4000! Ken Willis’s family homesteaded in the Upper Peninsula in 1891 and are proud 5th generation Yoopers. Ken, Felicia and their children all help run daily operations of the farm. Evidently, sugaring is a family effort. They are self-proclaimed stewards of the land and hope to pass it on to the next generation. And of course, the Willis family encourages visitors to stop by or schedule a tour to learn more about the operation!
Visit your local Krist location and give it a try! Get a taste of some REAL maple syrup!