Big Lake Syrup Makers Named Sherburne County Farm Family Of The Year | Free

Jake Dudley is seen standing outside the sugar shack at Dudley’s Syrup Company in Big Lake on Thursday, Aug. 18. The Dudley family was named Sherburne County’s Farm Family of the Year.

Jake and Erin Dudley stand at their evaporator in the sugar house at Big Lake-based Dudley’s Maple Syrup. The Dudleys, who began tapping maple trees and making syrup in 2011, have been recognized as Sherburne County’s Far Family of the Year.

Jake and Erin Dudley, center and right, are pictured with daughter Lynn, left, at Farm Fest where the owners of Dudley’s Syrup Company were honored as Sherburne County’s Farm Family of the Year.

Jake Dudley is seen standing outside the sugar shack at Dudley’s Syrup Company in Big Lake on Thursday, Aug. 18. The Dudley family was named Sherburne County’s Farm Family of the Year.

You know that feeling when you get an idea and the need to act on it drives you crazy.

It was early 2011 when Dudley saw something online about making maple syrup.

“Being a guy who wants to anything outdoors, I just had to do it,” Dudley said.

He ordered some taps with bag holders.

“They were delivered and about five minutes later I headed out to the woods,” he said.

That was at his father’s property in Big Lake. As he headed to the woods his father joined in and the two went out to tap trees.

They tapped 14 trees that year, which allowed Dudley to produce two gallons of maple syrup from 46 gallons of maple sap.

It took Jake Dudley 28 hours to boil the sap from those 14 trees on a small boiler.

Jake and Erin Dudley, center and right, are pictured with daughter Lynn, left, at Farm Fest where the owners of Dudley’s Syrup Company were honored as Sherburne County’s Farm Family of the Year.

He had to boil the sap over burning sticks and small tree branches.

“It was the coolest thing,” Dudley said.

“Being an outdoors guy and finding a new season- I went nuts on it,” he said.

How much did Dudley embrace his newfound passion?

So much so that 11 years later Jake Dudley and his wife Erin have made making syrup an attractive business.

It’s a business that has caught the eye of many in Sherburne County- which has resulted in the Dudley’s have been honored as Sherburne County’s 2022 Farm Family of the Year.

After that initial year of tapping 14 trees, Dudley graduated to 35 trees in 2012.

He purchased a small 4-foot pan from Park Equipment in Big Lake, as well as a boiler to help produce his syrup in 2012.

“To my surprise, I produced the same two gallons,” Dudley said.

In 2013, Jake and Erin purchased land in Big Lake Township and tapped 100 trees on the property.

In 2014, the Dudleys tapped 200 trees. They also equipped their operation with a new 2-foot by 10-foot extractor from Smokey Lake Maple Products that they used for the boiling and evaporating of their sap.

There were 250 trees tapped in 2015- the first year Jake used tubing to connect his trees.

In 2015, the Dudleys built a sugar shack on their new land.

2015 was also when the Dudleys started selling their products at area farmers markets.

“When the equipment started getting bigger, we had to do something to help pay for it,” Erin Dudley said with a smile.

In 2016, the Dudleys tapped 500 trees. By 1018, the couple began tapping birch trees to add to its product line.

During the 2022 season, the Dudleys tapped about 1,400 trees- about 730 maple trees and 700 birch trees.

Jake and Erin harvested 10,000 gallons of sap from those maple trees this spring.

“Next year I expect to tap 2,500 maple trees and 730 birch trees,” Jake Dudley said.

The large increase in maple trees to be tapped in 2023 is a result of Dudley entering into a lease with the City of Princeton to tap about 1,800 trees.

“Hopefully I’ll hit 4,000 or 5,000 trees in the next few years. My goal 10 years from now is to tap 10,000 trees annually,” Jake Dudley said.

Tapping trees and producing syrup is a time-sensitive endeavor,” Jake Dudley said.

“It takes time to take care of the woods, take care of the trees, and maintain the equipment,” he said.

“There’s also a fair amount of time standing, looking around, and saying to myself ‘This is pretty awesome’,” Jake Dudley said.

Jake takes care of the tubing, boiling, evaporation, and the equipment. He also manages the trees. Erin helps with bottling the syrup and selling it. She also assists with tapping and syrup making, and helps with cleaning. Daughter Lynn, assists with the syrup-making process, helps sell the family’s products at markets, and posts on social media when she’s not busy with her studies at Minnesota State University-Moorhead.

However, Dudleys receive a great deal of help from friends and family during the syrup season, too- especially from the Fleigle and Rasmussen families.

Jake Dudley says he was surprised when he learned his family was named Farm Family of the Year.

“Actually, he though some friends were pulling his leg,” Erin Dudley said.

But when letters started arriving in the mail box from the University of Minnesota Extension Service, Jake started believing being honored as Farm Family of the Year might be possible.

“It’s been fun,” Jake Dudley said.

“I’ve enjoyed it and am glad we got the recognition,” he added.

“It’s been humbling and fun,” Erin Dudley said.

Jake and Erin also say that being named Farm Family of the Year has helped give recognition to food products being made locally.”

“That’s something that’s important in today’s world,” Jake Dudley said.

Jeff Hage is the managing editor of the Monticello Times. He majored in journalism at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire.

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