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Tapholes – Straight or Slanted? The sap doesn't care

T.D. Perkins and W.T. Bosley, University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center | June 10, 2020

UNDERHILL CTR., Vt.—Straight or slanted? The sap doesn’t care the angle of your spout.

Historically it was recommended that tapholes be drilled at a slight angle to allow sap to run out to reduce freeze heaving of spouts and to reduce sap souring in the taphole.

Starting shortly after the introduction of the “small” spout (19/64”, 5/16”), maple equipment manufacturers started to recommend that tapholes be drilled straight in.

The most common reason for this was stated that it avoided the creation of oval tapholes. [ MORE ]

Rental rates and leases to right size your business

Mark Cannella, UVM Extension | April 14, 2020

MORRISVILLE, Vt.—Getting to at least 5,000 taps and utilizing rented trees may be the key to economic viability, according to new research from University of Vermont Extension.

Getting a maple business to a profitable scale is a primary goal for commercially-minded producers seeking meaningful income from their business.

A large equipment investment is needed to run a modern and efficient maple enterprise.

The prospect of purchasing more forestland may not be financially feasible for everyone that seeks to expand their enterprise.

Renting taps from other landowners can be a good approach to access more woods when a land purchase is not immediately possible. [ MORE ]

Addison County (Vermont) Maple Seminar has big class schedule this Saturday

Peter Gregg | January 9, 2020

MIDDELBURY, Vt.—The maple school season in Vermont kicks off this weekend, with a big show in Middlebury this Saturday, Jan. 11.

The 2020 Addison County Maple Seminar will be held at the Middlebury Union High School and will feature a day-long slate of classes and demonstrations for the small and big producer alike.

Walk-in registrations are welcome and the fee will be $35 for the day, including lunch (or only $20 without the lunch).

The high school is located on 73 Charles Ave. in Middlebury. The show begins at 8:00 a.m. and runs to 3:45.

The program is run by the Addison County Maple Sugar Makers Association in conjunction with the UVM Proctor Maple Research Center and UVM Extension.

Sponsors of the show include CDL USA, Co-operative Insurance Companies, F.W. Webb Company, National Bank of Middlebury, Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA). [ MORE ]

The Goldilocks Touch

T.D. Perkins, W. T. Bosley and A.K. van den Berg | November 6, 2019

UNDERHILL CENTER, Vt.—One of the more common questions producers have when about tapping maple trees is “how deep should spouts be driven in to the taphole?”

Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer, since different spouts have different dimensions, variable degrees of taper and steps and are made of different materials with dissimilar degrees of “stickiness.”

Regardless, the importance of driving spouts in to the proper depth is readily apparent: if spouts are driven too shallow there is a risk that spouts can leak vacuum or heave easily during freezes, but if driven too deeply, small cracks may form which cause liquid and vacuum leaks or alternatively, the reduced amount of exposed wood surface area inside the taphole caused by driving spouts in too deeply may reduce sap collection.

Most frequently, producers drive in spouts by sound – a change to a “deader” sound indicating proper depth. However some producers feel that seating spouts more deeply than this lowers the chance that spouts will heave and cause leaks and a loss of vacuum, therefore reasoning that deeper spout seating reduces maintenance during the season. [ MORE ]

Price-Setting for maple sales

Mark Cannella | October 16, 2019

MORRISVILLE, Vt.—Prime-time maple retail season is picking up! It is time to welcome leaf peepers into our glorious northern woodlands, gear up for holiday sales and revisit price points for local demand.

I have worked with dozens of maple producers and retailers in recent years. Everyone wants to make more money and smart price-setting strategies are the key to meeting financial objectives.

It is common for people to scoff at a neighbor who apparently prices dooryard maple gallons too low. Who is selling syrup for $35 per gallon?

It is increasingly common for people to scoff at that new business selling pints online for $22+ in fancy glass bottles (aka expensive glass!). Whatever! Stop judging others and double-down on your own pricing strategy. [ MORE ]

UVM Proctor Center examines effect of spout diameter on sap yield

T.D. Perkins & A.K. van den Berg UVM Proctor Maple Research Center | August 29, 2019

UNDERHILL CENTER, Vt.—In order to determine the optimal approach to sap collection in their operation, maple producers need to be informed about how the choices they make will affect sap yield.

One of the decisions they face is what spout size (diameter) to use.

Average sap yields from tapholes of different diameters as a percentage of yields from 5/16”-diameter (control) tapholes. [ MORE ]

Maple producers doing more business planning

Mark Cannella, University of Vermont Extension | June 5, 2019

MORRISVILLE, Vt.—Maple operators are talking more and more about business each year.
The number of participants at business workshops has doubled or tripled at most winter maple conferences between 2014 and 2019.
A combination of public comments at these sessions and private discussions has revealed many reasons why maple operators are paying more attention to business planning.
Three major themes stand out from my interactions with producers and sellers: finances, marketing and collaboration.
Finances and profitability goals are top of mind.
New and expanding enterprises remain optimistic and opportunistic. Investment continues and the large expense forces owners to maintain cash flow and strive for a long-term return.
A recent lag in bulk prices is forcing many managers to reassess their cost of production and adapt to sub $2.30 per pound bulk markets.
Strong marketing plans strengthen the business. Sellers at all levels are feeling competition and working hard to distinguish their quality, products and brands.
Bulk producers are seeking premiums for certified organic syrup. [ MORE ]

Proctor Center continues with innovations

Jeff Wakefield | September 10, 2018

UNDERHILL CTR., Vt.—Like most sugarmakers, Brian Stowe was used to working without a break from the start of the maple sugaring season in early spring to its bitter end in mid- to late April.

“If you had dental or medical issues, taxes, anything – all that had to be done before or after; during the season, you’re committed, 24/7,” says Stowe, sugarhouse operations manager at the University of Vermont’s Proctor Maple Research Center.

But after 28 sugaring seasons at the Proctor, Stowe encountered something new this year: weekends off.

Stowe owed his newfound down time to a combination of state-of-the-art new and cleverly re-purposed old technology at the Proctor sugarhouse, a model facility for the maple industry. If the innovations catch on as past improvements have, the Proctor’s innovations could make sugar-making a vastly more humane, and profitable, enterprise in the future.

What first greets a visitor to the sugarhouse, a peaked two-story structure tucked in a grove of maples down the road from the Proctor’s main research facility in Underhill, is a sea of steel barrels just inside the door that contain the operation’s output for the year: 3,000 gallons of maple syrup, a record crop.

But it isn’t the quantity of maple syrup that made 2018 such a banner year, says Tim Perkins, a research professor in UVM’s Plant Biology Department who is the Proctor’s director. It was the greatly reduced time it took to produce it – an improvement that was responsible for Stowe’s more forgiving schedule.

“In the past we made about 20 gallons of syrup for every hour of sugarhouse time,” Perkins says. “This year we produced 42 gallons of syrup for every hour,” a 110 percent improvement.
[ MORE ]