Cook County Extension is proud to name the Sawtooth Mountain Maple Syrup Company as the

Cook County Farm Family of the Year for 2023. Each year, Extension highlights the

contributions of a farm family to the local agricultural and food landscape of Cook County.

In the 1970s, Kirstin van den Berg and her brother, Chris Cordes, got their start maple

sugaring as youngsters growing up in Chisago County. They used gallon milk jugs to

collect sap and boiled it in a large, flat pan over an open wood fire. In 1986, Chris started a

more serious operation on his property near Almelund in Chisago County. With his parents,

Jim and Marianne, Chris expanded to several hundred taps, built a larger sugar house, and

invested in a wood-fired evaporator. In 1995, Kirstin joined her brother and parents in the

operation. Kirstin’s husband Greg Nichols and son, Calvin Waddell, are currently part of

the business as well. 

Later that year there was an opportunity for the families to purchase 320 acres of sugar

maple forest in Lutsen, in the heart of the Superior National Forest. The next year the

families started building their homes, a sugarhouse/bottling building, and their sap

collection network. The following year, the families harvested their first crop of sap from

6,000 taps and started a new business: Wild Country Maple Products.

Over the years the operation grew. More taps were added, and equipment was updated. The

families focused on selling syrup directly to consumers. In 2002, the operation was

officially designated as certified organic, and sales were expanded to the Twin Cities co-op

and natural foods marketplace. In 2013, Sawtooth Mountain Maple Syrup Company was

formed, focusing solely on the production side of maple sugaring. 

Today, Sawtooth Mountain Maple Syrup Company uses 29,000 taps producing between

7,000 and 8,500 gallons of finished maple syrup annually. Trees are tapped starting in

January and harvest takes place in March and April. In total, the families have a combined

100-plus years of maple-syrup-making experience.

The families are members of the Minnesota Maple Syrup Producers Association and the

Minnesota Farmers Union. For eight years, Kirstin was on the Cook County Extension

Committee. Family members give presentations on their craft to kids at local elementary

schools, they donate syrup to a wide variety of fundraising events including youth camps,

fire departments, school functions, and local raffles and silent auctions.

Family members give talks and tours promoting maple syrup production and mentor new

sugar makers. Kirstin has written articles for the Minnesota Grown program and retail store

publications. She is currently working with several Minnesota school districts and their

Farm to School grant awards.

Kirstin, Greg, Chris, Calvin, Jim and Marianne will be presented with Cook County Farm

Family of the Year award during Fisherman’s Picnic with a special honoring of their

agricultural contributions occurring on the Harbor Park stage on August 5 th at 2:45 pm. All

are welcome.