Frequently Asked Questions

In Vermont sugaring season is a very special time of year. A lot of hard work goes into the collection and boiling of sap into Pure Vermont Maple Syrup. The time of year this takes place is typically late February to early April. The weather needs to be just perfect (cold night, warmer days) for the sap to run. We are busy boiling sap into syrup during our Sugar on Snow parties in March. Please call 1-800-993-2546 to verify that we are boiling.

Dakin Farm has two retail locations in Vermont. The first is located on Route 7 in Ferriburgh. This is the original store where we smoke our meats and can our syrup. The second store is in South Burlington, VT on Dorset St. If you are not able to visit us here in Vermont we offer our products on our web site and by catalog. You may call 1-800-993-2546 if you have any questions.

Dakin Farm does not wholesale or private label. We are a small family run business and it takes a lot of hard work to fill the orders we receive.

We do hire seasonal help every holiday season. We begin reviewing applications and hiring in October. You can stop by our Ferrisburgh store to fill out and application or email customerservices@dakinfarm.com to have an application emailed to you.

Yes, Dakin Farm does donate to local charities. Please send your request by email to customerservices@dakinfarm.com or call 1-800-993-2546. Due to overwhelming demand we do ask that you have your request to us 4 weeks prior to your event. We review requests every week and will follow up with you one way or the other.

We may be able to help. Please call 1-800-993-2546 and we will do everything we can to provide a replacement.

All of our packages are sent in our custom gift packaging. We work very hard to make sure the package your recipient receives is the best gift they have ever gotten. We have received many, many compliments on our gift packaging. We also provide a free gift card with each gift order.

I am sorry we cannot exchange food. If you have a problem with your order please give us a call at 1-800-993-2546.

If you need to change an order you can call us at 1-800-993-2546. We do everything we can to accommodate your request. Please note that at Christmas we may not be able to change the order because it has already shipped. Both UPS and Fed Ex provide a service to change a delivery address after an order has shipped. Please note there is an $11.00 fee that is charged by both UPS and Fed Ex that you will be required to pay.

Due to severe restrictions placed on us by the credit card companies. Dakin Farm no longer keeps credit card numbers on file. As soon as you enter the card into our web site or the customer service representative enters it into our back end it is encrypted. We take credit card safety very seriously and strictly follow credit card guidelines. We do ask for the CV2 code on orders as an added level of security. It allows us to know that you do in fact have the card in hand.

We charge all cards at the time of shipment. If you place an order in October and the order is scheduled to ship in December we will charge the card in December when it ships. The exception to this rule is if you use the PayPal payment option. PayPal will charge your account immediately.

Yes, our products are extremely stable. We ship some products frozen with the expectation that some thawing will take place in transit. In most cases food can either be stored in a refrigerator or put into the freezer. Please see your heating and storing instruction booklet that comes with every order.

It is the process that we use at Dakin Farm to smoke our meats and cheeses. Cobs are ground up corn cobs. We drop those grounds onto a 700 degree hot plate. The smoke fills the smokehouse and flavors the meats or cheeses. We use cob-smoke at Dakin Farm because we find it to be a very delicate smoke and it goes very well with our maple curing or maple glazing.

We do not distribute to stores or restaurants. We sell the crackers on our web site and in our catalog to individual consumers. You can click on "All Natural Vermont Crackers" under “Pantry” on the top navigation. You may also call us at 800-993-2546 to order.

Maple syrup can sit in your pantry for up to a year unopened. Once opened you should refrigerate the syrup and can expect it to last a year.

Each order going to a different address will carry its own shipping charge. You may ship two orders to the same address and use one shipping charge only if the orders are packed together in one box.

In most cases NO. Perishable items have to be shipped to a physical address (they are shipped UPS or Federal Express). An order that has only non-perishable items can be shipped to a P O Box via the United States Postal Service. Please call Customer Service at 1-800-993-2546 to confirm USPS is an option.

We can not ship any meat or cheese to foreign countries. We can ship non-perishable products such syrup, jams, fudge, pancake mix and sugar candies. Please call 1-800-993-2546 to ask about any shipping restrictions and to acquire an accurate shipping quote.

Yes we do. The rates for shipping to Alaska and Hawaii are based on weight. Please call 1-800-993-2546 so that we may assist you with placing your order.

Yes, we do ship to APO/FPO boxes. As with international orders we cannot ship any perishable products. Please call 1-800-993-2546 to discuss shipping options and to place the order. We take great pride in shipping Vermont and New England products to our friends serving in the military.