Since 1937
With roots over 75 years deep on White Meadows Farms, the Bering family is as passionate as ever to connect visitors like yourself with the unique character, quality, history and craft behind Canada’s sweetest natural treasure — 100% Pure Maple Syrup.
Commitment to the Environment
From energy conservation to composting and recycling, we take bold steps wherever possible to preserve our planet.
Lighting
Energy efficient LED spotlights are replacing halogen spotlights in The Maple Sweet Shop, reducing our yearly electricity consumption.
Manufacturing
A great deal of fuel must burn in order to boil the water laden sap into 100% Pure Maple Syrup. Aware of the environmental impact of fossil fuels, we’ve opted to not follow the path of many modern maple producers that heat their evaporators with oil. Instead, we follow the pioneers’ example and heat with wood from dead or overcrowded trees in our sugar bush. The ash from this renewable fuel is then used to enrich the soil of crop fields.
Packaging
To reduce waste, our packaging is done in-house, on-demand. Labels are printed with water based ink to eliminate harmful solvents from entering the environment.
Waste
We sort all biodegradable waste, from paper products to food waste, to be composted on site and recycled as fertilizer for the fields. All plastic recycling is taken to a local recycling facility and processed into something new. We’ve reduced the waste we send to the landfill by over 75%!
Heating
Our farm workshop hits its highest energy demand during the cold winter months. To cut down our carbon imprint, we installed a solar heating system to supplement our current heating system in 2009.
When you support businesses like ours that take steps to preserve our environment, you take a step to ensure a sustainable future and a greener tomorrow.
A Bit of History…
1937
The Bering family settles on 200 acres of cropland and forest nestled amongst rolling meadows. Here they raise dairy cows, juice grapes and cash crops. The meadows just outside the family’s kitchen window burst white each summer with daisies earning the nickname White Meadows, later to win its place as the farm’s official name.
1940
Just for fun and curiosity’s sake, the first Bering to own the farm, Adam, harvests some sap and boils maple syrup with his son Gasper this winter.
1960
Wanting to pass the experience on to his own son, Gasper teaches Murray how to harvest the watery maple sap and boil it into sugary syrup.
1989
Third generation Bering on White Meadows Farms, Murray, and his wife, Ann, begin to tap some of the farm’s maple trees and boil maple syrup on their stovetop. As Murray and Ann’s appreciation for Maple Syrup, one of Canada’s oldest crafts and purest natural foods, flourishes, the number of pots on their stovetop grows, and inevitably, so does their circle of friends.
1991
Murray and Ann purchase their first hobby evaporator and house it in a refurbished chicken coop, allowing them to boil a lot more maple syrup than their stovetop will permit.
1993
Around sugaring season, Murray and Ann serve their maple syrup and pancakes to visitors on picnic tables inside a modified greenhouse called The Pancake Hut. They also construct their first official “sugaring house” and install a much larger evaporator, again increasing their maple syrup production.
1994
Murray and Ann transform their one-car garage into The Maple Sweet Shop. They also take curious visitors into the sugar bush to see where maple syrup comes from. The Sugar Bush Adventure with re-enactors officially kicks-off in 1998.
1996
The Berings upgrade their tap and pails to a pipeline system, increasing the efficiency of their maple sap harvest.
1998
The Berings introduce a Candy Making Machine to their kitchen to transform their maple syrup into even sweeter delights like maple butter and pure sugar candies.
2000
White Meadows Farms’ large, completely accessible, Maple Lodge is constructed from rough sawn local timber. The new lodge replaces the canvas pancake hut with a 120-seat, cafeteria-style, dining area. It also houses the farm’s new production-focused kitchen and the current Sugar Shack.
2003
Getting even more creative with maple syrup, the Berings introduce the first of their gourmet maple products, the Original Maple BBQ Sauce, to showcase maple syrup’s versatility.
2006
White Meadows Farms sells the dairy herd but continues to cash crop alongside their growing maple syrup business.
2008
A slumping grape market forces the farm to remove its juice grapes. The following year popcorn is grown in its place to make the farms’ Maple Kettle Corn truly local.
2009
Murray and Ann’s sons, Richard and Nick, become more invested in the farm’s maple syrup production — beginning the fourth generation to operate the farm.
2014
The farm switches to an entirely maple syrup focus as Murray retires from hay farming. However, the Berings notice a dilemma. All of the local sugar-makers stop maple syrup celebrations after the brief Feb-April sugaring season, leaving warm-weather visitors with little way to discover and enjoy Canada’s sweet delight. The Berings decide to start a new tradition. They set new operating times for their maple-dedicated Sweet Shop and begin hosting the Discover Maple Tour, ensuring guests can celebrate 100% Pure Maple Syrup any time of the year!
2015
After 15 years of serving pancakes to the public alongside sugar bush tours in the springtime, the owners wanted to adjust their focus. Instead of solely attracting people to the farm property, they decided to place a greater emphasis on bringing their products to their customers! They closed the restaurant and reinvented the space to be the central head office of White Meadows Farms where they now focus on production of handmade gourmet maple products, educational tours and product sales. If you miss the taste of our pancakes, don’t fret, we have our mix available in our stores and online so you can make them at home. Our baked beans and maple butter tarts are also available in the Maple Sweet Shop.
2016
Our seasonal, self-guided Sugar Bush Tour, dubbed The Sugar Bush Adventure, has been replaced with the all new Sugar Bush Trek.
2017
In December this year, White Meadows Farms opens the first off-site retail store called The Maple Syrup Store located inside the retail concourse at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls.
2019
In October, Richard Bering, along with his wife Amanda and their two eager kiddos officially become the new faces of White Meadows Farms. Ann moves towards retirement while Murray still helps to bottle maple syrup and assist with other projects around the farm.
2021
The trials of the Covid-19 pandemic brought new opportunities for outdoor dining and the Sugar Bush Campout Lunch was born! In July, the second off-site retail location: The Maple Syrup Store in Niagara-on-the-Lake officially opened.
2022
The Sugar Bush Trek and the Discover Maple Tour return after a 2-year hiatus. Tasting Boards in the Sugar Shack were in full swing starting in May 2022!