Crown Maple

[bison1973]

I don't know about you guys but I was thinking...

Just what the maple industry needs is a Wall Street millionare getting into the business... and, his goal should be to "corner the retail market".

Then I opened the latest Maple News and much to my delight... it's happening!



Your thoughts gentlemen?

[Greenwich Maple Man]

I know for a fact the owner of crown couldn't make a drop of syrup. Big money trying to buy his way in.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

hello big government regulation

[bison1973]

that's exactly what I thought... nothing like the big bucks from wall steet to get the government's attention.

[maple flats]

And those big wall street investors will keep doing it until the money is gone.

[red maples]

He has the right to do what ever he wants. He is a business man and he has millions or billions to work with. Maybe its more jelousy than anything, as far as selling syrup for that price I guess if you can get it alright good for you. Here is the part I don't like about it. when you charge that much for syrup I don't see it as a a nitch or anything like that your using marketing to fool people that are ignorant to a product. It has become the american way which is sad and marketing scams are what sell products in combinations with attractive displays packaging etc. I personally think that if your getting that much for syrup your taking advantage of people, I just don't think its right. Is there a big market for maple yeah, its huge world wide, we are lucky enough to live in the maple producing area of the world but we still shouldn't take advantage of people by charging that much. just my opinion.

As far as selling your syrup by the gallon for so cheap, well a few things first you really need to stay competative with the surrounding sugarhouses if you have competetion, and competition is good, its alot of hard work as we all know and you should be paid for your hard work. but if your fine with selling syrup for less than its value(again just my opinion) then thats fine too. you have a right to do that too. I am not going to bash you for it. just thinking fairly of you and your competition and you customers. now this is just my opinion. Everyone that know that keeps bees and sells the honey is charging $10 a pound, I just think its too much, So I only charge $8 a pound. could I get $10? I am sure I can I don't wanna bring the market price down its just my opinion. The bees make it not me!!!

In anycase I think in the beginning of Crown maples ventures put a bad taste in alot of people's mouths by rumors of tapping state land in the catskills that was owned privately owned and the owners paying taxes on it couldn't do anything with it because of government friends in low places. grants to get high effiecient maple equipment even though he afford his own. But they since moved the operation and dumped a ton of money into it. I guess you could look at it as a good sound business model and its nice to have money to spend on a multi-million dollar facility, but I know if I were going to a sugarhouse there is just something that is nice to see a wooden sugarhouse with the sweet smell steam rising and coming out of the coupula, unfortunately like everything else related to food shortly we are all going to have to conform to the demands of the industry to be efficent with steam hoods, and the serilization of the white walled food industry. It just looses its romantics when you think about it going in that direction but we all know it will.

this year I raised my prices a bit not much just by $1 for quarts and pints and $2 for 1/2 gallons, I explained to my customers that is was a bad year and costs have gone up a little but as long as I have a more normal season next year I will bring the prices back down to normal and everyone was fine and understood completely.

Oh yeah and what Dr Tim said is true you can't say its organic unless youre certified. but you can say all natural, although all natural and anything else is just feel good marketing words.

[steam maker]

maybe after the people start using more than there 12 ounce bottles they will start googling where they can buy more , get your websites ready boys

[Thad Blaisdell]

I only do (did) this during the season. Bottled it directly from canner while I was standing there. No checks accepted. Much better than bulk price.

[Genson]

Their final product is no different from thousands of other producers. It relies on expensive and unnecessary marketing, most of which is unreliable and not evidence based. Crown Maple could make a significant contribution to the Maple Syrup Industry in New York. I hope their financial association to the industry leads to advances in meaningful scientific, manufacturing and sugar bush advances. Their recent trend towards alienating local maple producers does not forecast well.

[Snowy Pass Maple]

Folks, come on... we all know pork and maple go well together :-)

This story gets more and more interesting... Crown Maple is also tied into Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation (HVEDC). Chuck Schumer is again involved.

This group just got 3.4 million dollars to help build a building at the Culinary Institute of America to help farmers market products to large companies. But it was also somehow pitched as a disaster relief effort. Again, the local village paper has an interesting article trying to get to the bottom of how exactly this will help farmers, where this money is going, where it's coming from, and the network of political connections behind it all. I'm not sure I understand after reading it, but as we get our expanded operation up and running this year and have more product available, I will have to call these guys up and see what exactly is going on over there.

http://themillbrookindependent.com/n...rmers%E2%80%9D