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Syrup tin cans promoted to U.S. producers
Peter Gregg | May 27, 2025
St. ALBANS, Vt.—Syrup cans, long popular in Quebec, are being promoted in the U.S.
They are appealing to consumers and make syrup very easy to ship for mail order businesses.
Some equipment is needed for sealing the cans. Dominion & Grimm dealers are the place to go for that.
These little cans first appeared in 1951 when the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture set up a drawing contest to promote their use.
The cans, then with a volume of 19 fluid oz, were a more convenient size for household use than the otherwise available tins with sizes varying from 1L to 4L.
Dominion and Grimm said it was excited to introduce them to US sugarmakers for the 2025 season. [ MORE ]
Maple Boot Camp returns to Ohio in July for intensive training
Peter Gregg | May 27, 2025
KIRTLAND, Ohio—Maple Boot Camp is returning in July and open for registrants.
For more information and online registration, visit woodlandstewards.osu.edu.
The camp will convene at 12:00 pm Thursday July 17 and runs through 4:00 Saturday afternoon. Registration cost is $225.
The registration deadline is July 10 at 5:00 PM.
This year’s event will be held at Lake Metroparks Farmpark 8800 Euclid Chardon Rd. Kirtland, OH 44094
Maple Bootcamp is a 3-day curriculum that will provide intensive hands-on training for beginner and intermediate maple producers. [ MORE ]
Tariffs on Canadian equipment and syrup could kick in tomorrow
Peter Gregg | January 31, 2025
BRISTOL, Vt.—Big maple companies are preparing for the worst, they say.
If a threatened 25 percent tariff on all Canadian goods coming into the U.S. takes effect on Feb. 1, it could impact the maple industry.
Most maple equipment is manufactured in Canada and companies there were spending the last weeks of January frantically moving supplies over the border.
“We’re stocking up to the ceiling,” said Ben Shepard, who runs the 25,000 square foot CDL Bristol location in Bristol, Vt. “We are just preparing for the unknown."
He said CDL has been moving multiple tractor trailer loads day after day from Canada, trying to get inventory into the U.S. before a tariff kicks in.
Same goes for the CDL New Hampshire location.
“We have taken in a whole year’s worth of inventory in the last couple of weeks,” said Will Streeter, who runs the store there.
Sugarmakers should expect to pay 25 percent more for their Canadian-made equipment if the tariffs go through, most experts predict.
[ MORE ]
Goodrich installs more than 1500 new monitors
Peter Gregg | November 26, 2024
EDEN, Vt.—The big monitor installation continues in Northern Vermont.
Glenn Goodrich of Goodrich Maple Farm along with Brett and Chris Elliott, woods managers, continues a massive installation of Farmblox monitors—upwards of 1500 of them, across the expanse of Goodrich’s 160,000-tap sugarbush.
More than 300 monitors were installed last season.
[ MORE ]
Industry leaders offer market outlook for 2025
Peter Gregg | November 26, 2024
PORTLAND, Maine—Syrup is still selling, that’s the good news.
Bulk buyers and industry leaders on a discussion panel at the NAMSC annual meeting seemed optimistic about the consumer end of the marketplace.
“People are using syrup for more than just breakfast overall, they are keeping syrup as a grocery staple,” said David Ellis, of Butternut Mountain Farm in Morrisville, Vt., one of the nation’s top syrup buyers.
Ben Fisk of Ben’s Sugar Shack in Temple, N.H. agreed, but was hopeful to expand further.
“If we could get people to use just one ounce of maple syrup in their coffee every day, we’d be in good shape,” he said.
None of the panelists would reveal or predict where the bulk price might be going, but gave a broad perspective on the current maple marketplace. [ MORE ]
Will the Midwest drought impact maple production?
Les Ober, OSU Extension maple specialist | October 10, 2024
BURTON, Ohio—Climatic conditions are once again posing a possible weather threat to maple syrup producers.
Western and Southern maple producing regions of United states are now part of an Abnormally Dry to Exceptional Drought pattern.
Of major concern to maple producers, is how the drought will affect the 2025 season. Currently, there does not appear to be a threat to New York and New England, where too much rain has caused other issues. That could all change if the drought shifts north and east.
The extreme drought and exceptional drought is concentrated in West Virginia and Southeastern Ohio, and has spread to the Upper Midwest.
However, large portions of other states are experiencing Abnormally Dry to Moderately Drought conditions.
Of greater concern, would be for this drought to extend into the winter and beyond. Snow accumulation during the Winter has a major impact on recharging the subsoil and sap flow. The subsoil moisture is everything when it comes to sap production.
The greatest impact would be from an extended drought, that reoccurs over multiple years. [ MORE ]
Average retail syrup price for a gallon goes up
Peter Gregg | June 26, 2024
HARRISBURG, Pa.—The retail price for a gallon of syrup in the United States averaged $55.70 last year, up two bucks over the 2022 average retail price in the U.S.
Seven states were surveyed by the USDA on retail prices, excluding the granddaddy of syrup prices, Connecticut where some sugarmakers are rumored to fetch $100 per gallon.
In Maine, retail averages $69.80 per gallon; New Hampshire gets $64.90; New York was at $53.80; Wisconsin gets $52.00; Michigan $56.60; Pennsylvania at $47.10 and Vermont was at $57.10, according to the USDA.
[ MORE ]
Sugarmakers endorse “Krueger Sanitation Method
Michael Rechlin, Future Generations University | May 28, 2024
FRANKLIN, W.V.—Three-sixteenth tubing systems rely on gravity-initiated tension in the sap column to develop vacuum.
They provide substantial increases in sap flow without the added equipment and energy expenses of 5/16 vacuum systems.
What they do require is adequate drop to develop the pull. Over time it was discovered that 3/16 systems had their own problems.
Foremost of which is the accelerated growth of microbial mass, leading to clogging, at points of reduced diameter around fittings.
Also, with the tubes remaining filled with sap a greater volume of contaminated sap was being be drawn back into the tree during the freezing period of a sap flow cycle.
Various strategies are being developed to address these two drawbacks. The approach looked at here is a cleaning and sanitation technique we refer to as the “Krueger Sanitation method.” [ MORE ]
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