The First Tree Tapping

Pozarski Family Farms is a small, family run business located north of Boyd, Wisconsin.  Owned and operated by Blake and Jessica Pozarski, our family and property is our pride and passion.  Our son, Wyatt, and daughter, Finley, share this passion and our family time always revolves around collecting maple sap, shed hunting, working on food plots, checking trail cameras, shooting bow, or deer & turkey hunting.

Blake started collecting maple sap in March of 2012. We started small, with the help of a neighbor, and used all metal taps and pails. That first year we tapped trees the old-fashioned way with brace and bit and had 180 taps.  In 2012 we collected a little over 100 gallons of maple sap and cooked just 7 quarts of maple syrup.  Collecting sap and producing syrup went from a hobby to a business in a short amount of time.  2023 will be our 12th year producing syrup and in those 12 years, we have seen huge growth with our maple syrup operation. We now have approximately 2000 taps on pipeline and vacuum and we collect about 33,000 gallons of sap. We also purchase local sap from friends and neighbors and produce approximately 1500 gallons of maple syrup each year. Wyatt and Finley also tap trees and collect their own sap. They have 80 taps with metal bag holders and already have plans to grow their maple sap set-up.

Our maple syrup is sold locally at Styles on Main and Harvest Moon Organics in Cadott, Down to Earth Garden Center in Eau Claire, and on our farm north of Boyd.  Jessica sells our syrup at farmers markets in Cadott and Eau Claire and online on Etsy. We also sell our syrup to local restaurants to use in their recipes.  You can find our syrup at farmers markets by Janesville and many other businesses across WI, MN, AZ, and more!  

  The WMSPA held the WMSPA First Tree Tapping on March 19,2022 at Leafy Grove Maple to kick off 2022 Wisconsin Maple Month in Wisconsin which runs March 15 – April 15. Leafy Grove Maple was established in 1997 when Ray and Pam purchased their 40- acre sugar bush. In the spring of 1998, they tapped 200 maple trees, collecting sap with plastic buckets from a local bakery and cooking with an open pan. Today they tap over 1,350 trees on a custom-built vacuum collection system and produce their syrup in a newly built sugar house, complete with a 2x6 foot oil-fired evaporator and bottling room. They bottle on-site and sell locally. The WMSPA First Tree tapping began with Executive Director, Theresa Baroun welcoming the 75 plus guests in attendance. Followed by Rey Melander sharing with attendees the history of Leafy Grove Maple. Michelle Stangler, Maple Marketing Intern, Julia Nunes the 74th Alice in Dairyland, Rep. Callahan, Sen. Felzkowski, description of themselves and their connection to the WI maple industry. Julia Nunes, 74 th Alice in Dairyland, read the Governor’s Proclamation, signed by Governor Evers, declaring March 15 – April 15, 2022 Maple Month in Wisconsin. After the proclamation was read, Ray Melander demonstrated to Michelle and Julia Nunes how to tap a maple tree. Michelle and Julia each tapped a tree and hung a bag on the tree. WMSPA Executive Director Theresa Baroun , WMSPA Executive Director presented the Melander’s with a free year membership to WMSPA. After the tapping, tours were given of the sugarbush along with maple cookies, snacks, and maple apple cider provided by the Melander Family. 

This adventure began for us in 2015 when Jordan sparked an interest in tapping trees to sell the sap to local producers.  We started out with 90 taps selling the majority of it but cooking small amounts on an outdoor flat pan.  We continued this way for several years but adding a few more taps each year.  

In 2018 Jordan decided it was time to purchase an evaporator.  We grew to 300 taps and started purchasing sap from other local producers.  We also purchased our first R.O. and filter press.  

In 2019 we grew to 500 taps and buying more sap from other producers which made us realize it was time to purchase a bigger R.O. and build on to our sugar house.  

Every year we have made additions to our process by adding storage tanks, a bottler, and other improvements to our sugar house to make our cooking more efficient.  

What began as a hobby has grown to a small-scale syrup production business.  We sell the majority of our syrup in bulk while bottling some for our family and friends.  

We are looking forward to the First Tree Tapping and sharing our adventure with you!!