BESTEMAN’S MAPLE PRODUCTS

Marvin and Delores Besteman
15689 S. Tilson Road
Rudyard, MI 49780-9370
(906) 478-5412

For the Besteman family, making maple syrup isn’t anything new. Sap-running springs have accompanied Marvin his entire life. His wife Delores tells of their operation’s history:

“My husband’s folks sold some syrup out of the house – just a hobby,” she said. “They had a 5x14 pan and fired it with wood from the sawmill. We commercialized 25 years ago.” Apparently, a cousin of Marvin wanted to tap the trees, but not deal with boiling. So, with their son Mark, Marvin and Delores buy the sap and produce syrup from approximately 7,000 trees. “When it’s running full force, he’s bringing in sap just as fast as we’re boiling it,” she said.

The Bestemans market their wares out of their home and at craft shows. In addition to syrup, they produce glazed nuts, sugar, candy and cream, and sell it year-round. The last few years have been good for business, too, with the operation yielding 1500 gallons of syrup per year. Delores remarked that the “hobby” just keeps getting bigger and bigger. “It’s changed,” she added. “ Twenty-five years ago you didn’t have to do all the sugar and candy.”

“It’s hard work,” she said. “Boiling is just part of it. Marketing is hard work – the work really starts then.” Part of the challenge is other syrup operations close to the Besteman operation. Delores remarked that there are two other producers “right next to us.”

Member Profile by Becky Thomas