This week marks a sweet start to the sap collecting season at Hogan's Homestead maple syrup farm on Goulais River near Sault Ste. Marie.
When asked if this year is shaping up to match last year’s record-breaking season, which saw sap collecting and boiling starting in January, Hogan’s Homestead co-owner and chief financial officer, Erica Hogan, told Northern Ontario Business, “Mother nature is your best or worst business partner. It’s all up to her.”
The 334-acre farm taps around 30,000 maple trees every year and has access to 11,000 acres of sugar bush. It takes a team of 11 full-time employees to complete tapping the trees and connecting them to a vacuum-line collection system.
Over the course of the season, the Hogans boil around 10,000 gallons of maple syrup to create 180 barrels at their on-site, 12,000-square-foot production facility, making them one of the largest producers in Algoma and the youngest, largest producers in Canada.
They’re also among the most creative producers, offering syrups infused with mouth-watering flavours such as coffee, cinnamon, chili, and blueberry, made with berries picked by Erica’s father and aged in bourbon barrels.
Their sustainable, organic production coupled with their willingness to take risks and “shake up the sugar bush” with unique flavours is routinely rewarded with recognition from top prizes at prestigious venues such as the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.
It’s rare to see first-generation maple syrup farmers take on such a large facility, but Erica said the challenge has allowed them to treat their business as a learning opportunity, thereby bringing a unique perspective to a traditional industry.
It also doesn’t hurt that the Hogans make the perfect team, with each partner playing to his or her strengths. Spencer has jack-of-all-trades skills acquired from his training as an HVAC technician, and Erica has expert culinary knowledge from her work as a trained pastry chef.
“My husband is the face of the operation but I make the magic happen,” said Erica, who oversees sales and production. “That’s why we’re married.”
The homestead started off with a $200 inheritance, an origin story that sounds like something from a folk tale.
“It was never supposed to be a business,” said Erica. “It just happened.”
When Bruce Balfour, Spencer’s grandfather, died in 2016, he left each of his grandchildren with a $200 inheritance. The money had to be used to create a happy memory with their spouses or families.
At the time, the couple lived on St. Joseph’s Island on Lake Huron, a place responsible for around 18 per cent of the province’s maple syrup production. The Hogans were enjoying a morning out at the local pancake house when Spencer said, “I wonder how hard it would be to make maple syrup?”
The question ended up proving that even the smallest detours in life can change everything.
The inheritance money was spent on materials to tap five of their own maple trees. The Hogans fell in love with the process, with spending time outdoors, and with the idea of creating quality products that are a quintessential part of the Canadian identity.
By 2017, what was originally a hobby blossomed into a business with nearly 50 tapped trees. In 2019, when the Hogans saw the family-run Superior Maple Syrup up for sale, they took the chance to chase their dreams of owning a large production facility. After renovations and updates, they officially reopened in August of 2020.
“We never had a stopping point and we never wanted to stop — and we’re still having fun,” said Erica.
Hogan’s Homestead has since seen huge growth. They’ve expanded their business model from selling weekly at the Maple Boutique in the Soo Market and seasonally at the farm’s Sugar Shack and gift shop, to having a permanent shop in downtown Sault Ste. Marie. The downtown store is used as company headquarters to ship their retail website sales worldwide.
Erica estimates around 75 per cent of their sales are bulk, while 25 per cent are wholesale retail. The bulk sales include 45-gallon drums shipped across the country for use in food-production businesses. Around 60 retailers in Canada and the United States also sell their pre-bottled retail products.
In 2023, they opened their fourth location when they took over the café and bakeshop at the Sault Ste. Marie Airport. They work with local farmers and producers to offer a delicious menu to travellers. They use maple syrup as a sweetener in all their products.
Over the next few years, the Hogans hope also to expand their production, increasing to 155,000 taps, and creating a legacy they can pass on to the next generation, whether that is their children or the children of the employees who have built Hogan’s Homestead with them.
“I have a seven-year-old and a three-year-old and a one-year-old,” said Erica. “Seeing them out in the sugar bush is the best part. Those memories are going to last a lifetime.”
The Hogans offer mini sugar shacks for rent via their website so they can pass on the tradition of collecting and boiling maple syrup to other families.
Each sugar shack is named after the Hogans’ daughters, including one named for Piper, who died in 2020 shortly after being born at the Sault Area Hospital.
“It’s not an easy story,” said Erica. “We’re part of a club that no one wants to be a part of. We try to continue to share our story and highlight the better parts of it.”
The Hogans commemorate Piper through The Piper Project, a charity that collects book donations to provide new mothers leaving the maternity ward with a story they can read to their newborns.
The Hogans also fundraise throughout the year in order to provide $15,000 worth of free field trips to around 40 community schools. Students hike into the sugar bush, boil down sap in the Hogans’ first evaporator, and make maple taffy in the snow. And of course, there are free samples to try.
“They only worry about the bus ride out,” said Erica. “We make it as fun and interactive as possible.”
Erica also teaches students about how ethical and sustainable farming is a big part of their business model — something the Hogans say customers are seeking them out for.
The Hogans want to continue to make connections with the local community by participating in events such as the Maple Weekend, a provincewide festival put on by the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association.
This year, from April 5-6, the Hogans will open their doors to 3,000 to 6,000 members of the public and provide hiking tours, set up local food trucks, host local musicians, and rent tables for people to sell local goods.
The Hogans hope people will come out, learn new skills, and start making memories with family and friends.
