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U.S. sets modern day record in maple production

Peter Gregg | June 9

Sugarmakers in the U.S. had another monster year with more than 4.2 million gallons produced this spring, breaking yet another record, according to statistics complied by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, a branch of the USDA.
In all, the United States production was 4,271,000 gallons of syrup made, beating last year’s total of 4,207,000 and setting yet another modern day record. [ MORE ]

Season rocking for some, others praying for a reset

Peter Gregg | March 4, 2017

Sugarmakers were hoping for a reset this weekend, as temperatures are expected to drop well below zero and hopefully stalling swelling trees.
“The buds are fat in my warmer woods,” said Richard Brodmerkle, a sugarmaker in Oakham, Mass. who has been boiling since mid-January on his 1,250 taps. [ MORE ]

Ohio sugarmaker ‘all in’ on bourbon syrup

Peter Gregg | January 2016

Nate Bissell is quickly becoming the industry’s number one syrup ruiner.

That’s the tongue in cheek way he describes his fledgling operation where he takes good syrup and pours it into old bourbon barrels and lets it sit for nine months.

The result? A smooth, extremely flavorful syrup that tastes almost exactly like bourbon and fetches an incredible price in urban markets. Two bucks an ounce, in some cases. [ MORE ]

Filtering and D.E. changes make for easier canning

Peter Gregg | January 2017

A couple years ago, sugarmaker Rick Newman was sitting around a table with a group of other sugarmakers who serve on the Cornell Maple Advisory Committee, and he surmised that filtering was becoming more of a problem at his sugarhouse and that maybe it was an issue worth exploring.
He got an unanimous consent. [ MORE ]

Capping the sap, plantation sugaring in Vermont

Peter Gregg | December 2016

Some people are calling it Frankenmaple.
The new plantation style sugaring system developed by the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center has had the industry abuzz since it was first unveiled three years ago.
[ MORE ]

EcoVap electric evaporator catching on

Peter Gregg |

Dominion & Grimm's new evaporator technology, the EcoVap, makes making syrup as easy as turning on the dishwasher at night before you go to bed.

It runs on electricity. That’s right, electricity. [ MORE ]

Expect significantly lower bulk syrup prices in 2016

Michael Farrell |

Bulk syrup prices are expected to be significantly lower when you go to sell your crop this spring, and it has absolutely nothing to do with how much syrup is made. With most agricultural products, prices are usually correlated with the size of the harvest. If there is a shortage, prices will rise and if there is a surplus, then prices will likely fall.
[ MORE ]