Growing
Nature-Based
Enterprises in
Appalachia

Sign up for a Value Added Training in your community!

Sign up for a Value Added Training program in your community!

Get the “recipe idea in your head” to retail shelves across the state and nation. This program is open to Value Added Makers, Technical Service Providers, Extension Agents, and anyone interested in value added product potential for your business.
Value added product examples include, but are not limited to, maple syrup, dressings, sauces, salsas, jams, jellies, candles, soap and more.
You will learn to:
• Register your business
• Work through your business plan
• Navigate process authority and food safety requirements
• Scale-up your operations

Learning

Join free, monthly webinars: ‘Out of the Woods: Growing Income from your Forest,’ every third Thursday at 7:00 pm EST

IN PERSON WORKSHOPS

Discover upcoming events, workshops, and hands-on opportunities.

For all things Appalachia, follow the dedicated Appalachian Program Facebook Page for upcoming learning opportunities and resources.

Research

Syrup Research: Stay up to date on where the sector is heading in Appalachia through Future Generations University’s ongoing research projects. Build a supplemental income stream for yourself through maple and alternative tree syrups such as birch, sycamore, and black walnut.

 

 

Action

Coaching: Ensure your syrup production success with comprehensive coaching, webinars, and resources as part of our network of organizations and producers across Appalachia. Email us with questions, comments, and feedback on how we can grow this traditional industry sustainably.

 

Education &
Research
Partner Farms

Explore this collection of case studies of land use history and culture from those who worked the family farms of rural West Virginia and Central Appalachia. Learn More

On Sale Now!

Appalachian Maple:
Recipes and Stories from the Mountain

Appalachia is not the first place that comes to mind when most of us think of maple syrup, but with more tappable maple trees than Vermont, it should be! This unique collection of recipes and family traditions are from those who collect and cook with maple products. Order Here

MOUNTAIN STATE MAPLE DAYS 2024 – PRODUCER MEDIA KIT

Maple State Mountain Days 2024 logo, text that reads "Proud Producer," weblink to www.wvmspa.orgFuture Generations University is pleased to share a free resource kit for West Virginia Maple Syrup Producers to share across social media to promote Mountain State Maple Days 2024. If you have any questions, contact Lindsay Kazarick, Appalachia Program communications associate, Lindsay.kazarick@future.edu, 304-358-2000 x 120.

In this kit, you will find:
1. General overview of marketing best practices
2. Easy-to-follow posting instructions for computer and mobile
3. Sample posts and hashtags appropriate for Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter
4. Graphics in multiple file formats, sized for social media purposes
o (JPG, PNG, PDF) and in three sizes: square (“sq”), vertical (“portrait”), and
horizontal (“landscape”)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MOUNTAIN STATE MAPLE DAYS 2024 MEDIA KIT

Mountain State Maple Days 2024 Producer Media Kit

Out of the Woods: Enriching Your Maple Business

A Free Webinar Series

This monthly webinar series covers a broad array of topics of interest to the maple syrup producer: from tree science and woodlot management to marketing and taxes. Featuring industry experts and producers, each session will have a presentation or two followed by Q&A. Stay tuned as the schedule rolls out.

Join us for our next webinar!

Watch free webinars for maple producers

Standards and Grading

Keeping Safe During COVID: Steps to Keeping Your Agribusiness Open

Navigating the WV Sugar Operation Review Preparedness Manual

Record-keeping for Production & Business

Sanitation Session

ARCHIVED WEBINARS

Our Partners in Service

  • West Virginia Department of Agriculture
  • West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance
  • The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
  • West Virginia Rural Business Development Division of the USDA
  • West Virginia Veterans and Heros to Agriculture
  • West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition
  • Appalachian Sustainable Development
  • Garret County Economic Development
  • West Virginia Maple Syrup Producers Association
  • Agricultural Marketing Service—USDA, ACER Access
  • Experience Learning

Research

  • Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
  • Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences
  • Robert C Byrd Institute at Marshall University
  • USDA Northeast SARE
  • Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and Environment