Ballard Maple 

          Freddy Ballard learned the basics of making maple syrup by observing and helping his father and grandfather make it for their families when he was a boy. Watching them sparked an interest in Freddy, so in 1972 he bought his first commercial leader evaporator in Swanton Vermont; with the hopes of turning it into a family business.

          In the 70's Freddy tapped trees and collected sap by fixing 1 gallon milk jugs to the trees. He would  empty the gallons into 40qt milk cans. Freddy dragged the milk cans through the woods, to the collection tank; which was an old milk house tank.

In the early 80s Freddy started running sap lines using a gravity system while still using the 40qt jugs and collection tank.

          In the early 2000s Freddy along with his grandson Trevor, moved his equipment to Tilly Foster Farm. Together they held educational tours, explaining and demonstrating the whole process from tapping tress and collecting sap, to boiling down and bottling. 

          Unfortunately Freddy's health continued to deteriorate, so his grandson took over at Tilly Foster Farm where he stayed for a few years before making the decision to bring the business back home, to Holmes NY. Trevor changed the name from Ballard and Sons to Ballard Maple.

          Trevor Ballard along with his children and many cousins put in hours and hours of work to build the Sap house into what it is today. The maple syrup process has been passed through 6 generations, with the last 4 making it commercialized. We have had 4 different sap houses on the property, each generation expanding and modernizing as they go.

Our goal is to bring you the best product, made with love, and we hope you enjoy it as much as our family does!

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*Recognition to: Trevor, Kim, Kody, Jennifer, Emily, Duke, Mary, Hugh, Chancy, Dale & Danny*

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In Loving Memory of Fredrick Ballard