Nearly 200 people enjoyed the late winter sunshine on the top of the tree-covered hills of Butler as Faith Acres Farm held its fourth annual Sugar Day.
Jeff Pettit, his wife, Sara, and their family work every year to bring this free event to the public. Their goals, Sara will tell you, are to bring farm-fresh food to the community and to educate the public regarding different aspects of farming. The atmosphere they present on during the Sugar Day celebration is more like a family event for not only their biological family but also for their PC Farmers’ Market family; more, those who attend become part of that family the moment they walk on-site. Pettit took attendees through each step of the process of harvesting maple sap. from tapping the tree to boiling the sap down (that is the simple way of saying it) to turn it into maple syrup. As the group looked on, he located a good limb and root and drilled a hole to tap the tree. During his first demo, he hit a dry spot, but the next site he drilled on that tree ran free with sap. He also displayed the tubing that he had strung from tree-to-tree that will allow him to collect the sap more easily. The tubing allowed those interested to see the sap flow from the tree to the collection site, as well, as air bubbles collect in the tubing and move with the flow. He explained that he takes the collected sap into the sugar shack where he boils it for hours to get it to the right consistency. This year’s collection has rendered about one gallon of syrup for every sixty gallons of sap he has collected. The evaporating process works to make the final syrup around 66 percent sugar, give or take.
Attendees get to sample the final product with a complimentary breakfast of sausage and pancakes. This year’s pancake mix (and also coffee) came from another local establishment, The Kentucky Millstone in Butler Kentucky.
Faith Acres showed off its latest venture during the festivities this year, an Airbnb cabin. This cabin has a solar shower and a compost toilet, a picnic table, a grill, and lots of personality and quiet. The cabin will be available from April through October, and it is located under the canopy of the same tall sugar maples that are tapped for sap each spring.
The past week’s weather was perfect for harvesting sap with its cold nights and warming days, but as the weather moderates this week, the sap will turn bitter, and sugar days will be over. Faith Acres will still offer fresh eggs from free range chickens, maple syrup (while supplies last), and fresh vegetables once the growing season takes hold. They also have a greenhouse set up in hopes of growing vegetables year-round. Look for them in May at the Farmers’ Market where Jeff Pettit is manager or contact them to meet them at their new on-site Faith Acres store during the week.
