Sugarhouse Tours

Sponsored by Farm Credit East & Clarence Brown

April 25

Buses leave from top of Church St and corner of Bishop St

Branon Shady Maples - Fairfield: 10:00, 12:30, 2:30

Brosseau’s Family Maples - Highgate: 10:30, 12:30, 2:30

Branon Shady Maples

Branon Shady Maples has been producing maple syrup since 1953 in Fairfield, Vermont. The farm was originally purchased by Charles and Barbara Branon, who laid the foundation for a family tradition that continues today.

In 2004, the farm was purchased by their son Damian Branon and his wife Stephanie, along with their five children: Patrick, Ryan, Damian Jr., Mariah, and Nicholas. Today, Damian and Stephanie continue to operate the farm alongside their son Damian Jr. and his wife Megan, as well as their four children: Emma, Damian III, Charles “Charlie” and Jack— the fourth generation of Branons proudly working the land.

What began as a 265-acre farm has grown to over 1,000 acres of land in operation today. Our new sugarhouse, built in 2022, supports a large-scale maple operation. We run two 6’ x 16’ Leader Evaporator rigs, supplied by six reverse osmosis machines to efficiently process sap during the sugaring season. Each year we boil sap from more than 92,000 taps, including 32,000 of our own taps and approximately 60,000 taps we purchase from neighboring producers.

At Branon Shady Maples, our farm is built on tradition, family, and a deep love for farming that continues to grow with every generation. 

Brosseau’s Family Maples

Daniel & Lise Brosseau have been in maple sugaring for many years boiling on a small

rig in the original sugarhouse on the property until 3 years ago. The original sugarhouse

was built by Dan’s father, brother and himself which now stands adjacent to a new

modernized sugarhouse built in 2025 where the dairy barn once stood.

The majority of the sap comes from the 3 different woods: “The Home Woods”, “The

Swamp Woods” and the “Good Woods”. The 3 woods combine up to approximately

6,000 taps. Prior to the new sugarhouse being built, the majority of the sap was

collected and sold to a neighboring sugarmaker.

The new open sugarhouse boasts a cellar area that 2 of the woods sap comes in, the

remainder is brought in and then is stored in a 16,500 gallon silo before being

processed by reverse osmosis prior to evaporating on a 4x14 oil fired rig on the main

level of the sugarhouse.

The Brosseau’s family has a long tradition of farming diversified from dairy, sweet corn,

pumpkins and maple and continue to do so with the help of their son Brad.

---

Thank you to our sponsors.

---