Maple Sugaring in Vermont

[Wintergreen Mountain]

   The Maple Sugaring season is going great here in Vermont.
   My friend Ken has made 27 barrels of syrup so far and hopes to make around 75 barrels this season.
He has around 13000 taps on a pipe line and vacumm system. Below are a couple of pictues. One of some pipe line ( hard to see in the background ) and the evaporator drawing off maple syrup.

   I hope to tap around 2000 taps on my lot in Fletcher for next years season and sell the sap to Ken. I can get $.28 to $.35 a gallon for it.  That will give me some income off the property.

[Chuck White]

Boy, that's some sugaring setup!

There are a couple of those around here, but most folks just go about it the "old fashioned" way!

I really like to visit the sugar shacks!  Nothing like it!

[Wintergreen Mountain]

    That sugarhouse smell is like a flower scent isn't it Chuck?  Specially off the old wood fired rigs.

I just got this mill shoveled out so i will be making sawdust soon.

[SwampDonkey]

Maple sugaring is a big deal here in NB as well. There are some big public land leases as well as on private woodlots. There's a 32,000 tap lease out in Divide on 370 acres of maple forest, an hour from here. They use 100 cords of firewood for boiling off. Ventilation of the steam has a direct impact on the draft for the fire. Too much ventilation and you loose draft.

And a private woodlot operation about 45 minutes away who have 45,000 taps and storage for 28,000 gallons of sap, they also have another 100 acre lot with 10,000 taps. They use oil (diesel and veggie) to boil off in their operation for efficiency.

Most syrup from NB is shipped to Quebec and the US.

[Wintergreen Mountain]

   SwampDonkey;
   We have some of the big sugarbushes here also.
   The market is good now. Maple syrup is at $3.50 to $4.50 a pound.
   A 40 gallon barrel wieghs 460 lb. At $4.00 a lb. brings $1840.00. Not a bad return on the process.
  I am in hopes of setting up at least 2000 taps for next year and selling the sap at around $.35 a
  gallon.   With my sawmill, pictured below, and the  sugarbush i will make some income to support my woodlot.

   Leon

[Mr Mom]

Maple syrup selling $32 to $40 dollars a gallon.
Amish have been collecting for about a month now. They said that it is a good year.

Thanks Alot Mr Mom

[kevinlt15]

here in wis. it has been good too. I have only 110 taps and hope to have 15 gal. of syrup when all done.Looks like Awinter storm is just going to miss us here its going to snow 16 inches 60miles to the north of us. with 10 days of good sapin weather ahead of us  8) 8)

[Sawyerfortyish]

Sugaring season is all done here. I made 75 gal on 450 taps. The red maples poped out in bud 10 days ago and the sugar maples poped a bud a few days ago. I was hoping for a couple more good runs and it got to 25 degrees but I don't think there was 20 gal of sap in my tanks so Im cleanning up the evaporator.

[cypresskayaksllc]

I just found out that the syrup Ive been gittin is corn syrup. I live in the south.

[SwampDonkey]

Don't even dare compare maple syrup to corn syrup. Maple syrup is actually healthy. ;)

[Don_Papenburg]

WINTERGEEN,  does your friend use a reverse osmosis to reduce some of the water? Cousin Orville had an RO unit that realy cut the evaporator time . he had switched to oil from corn last year .  He also had an evaporator just like the one in the pic.

[terrifictimbersllc]

From "the farm" near Goshen, IN,  sometime in the 60's, my father's photograph.

[SwampDonkey]

That's how I always did it TT. ;D

[Wintergreen Mountain]

    Don_Papenburg

   Yes he has two osmossiss machines that bring the sugar content down from around 2.2 percent to 23 to 25 percent sugar content. The evaporator is oil fired.

   He runs around 27 and 28 inches of vacumm on the pipeline tap system. realy makes the sap run. 
   Leon

[SwampDonkey]

Forgot to mention my cousin here in Royalton does sugaring to. He probably has about 20 acres of maples. He also has a reverse osmosis machine. He's been boiling this week. He does this and Christmas trees and that's all he does for a living. Has about 200 acres of Christmas trees. He has his products in a lot of the stores and attends trade shows.

[Mooseherder]

My Brother In Law brought me to a big Maple Sugar operation in Quebec.
It was his uncles place and is now run by the sons as he has passed on.
We actually stocked their product on the shelves here about 20 years ago.
I haven't seen it for a long time.  I loved that whole process.  It is very intriguing to me.
They also had a Dairy Farm and raised some Beef of the side.
The Beef sure was good also.
Great thread!

[SwampDonkey]

Yes Quebec has some large operators. You go from Montreal to Ottawa and a few miles west the other side and there are lots of maple woods. It's funny about Ottawa, you are in the woods for miles and miles and all the sudden your in the city.

[John Mc]

Don't even dare compare maple syrup to corn syrup. Maple syrup is actually healthy. ;)

Not to mention that Maple syrup actually tastes good. Once you try the real stuff, you'll never go back to "Mrs Butterworth's".

[Warbird]

I just found out that the syrup Ive been gittin is corn syrup.

How in the heck did you get the tap installed on that corn stalk!?  ;D

[SwampDonkey]

you'll never go back to "Mrs Butterworth's".

Nor Aunt Jamima, the pancakes are bad enough, the syrup is just plain nasty. :D

[Don_Papenburg]

Warbird , you gotta tap the ear on corn to get the sap out .   The best stuff from corn is corn squezzins . It takes a bunch of evaporating also .   ;D


Do any of you guys use the new anti siphon spiles?  I heard that they will extend the sap run by a week or so.

[bill m]

I haven't tried them but am considering it. I am planing to log my sugarbush this summer so will be installing all new tubing system ( hopefully with vacuum ) when I am done.

[kevinlt15]

Well the taps got pulled this evening and the frogs are croaking the season of sapping is over I will have 14 gallons when I am done boiling.  :D   I run A low budget just for fun syruping operation. but I enjoy it. ;D ;D 

[isawlogs]

No matter how low budget the outfit is , its all good stuff in the end. Did you take a few pics of you " low budget out fit " . We have, at my dads , a very low budget outfit  ;D :D , Still it makes great sugarin' 

[SwampDonkey]

I don't do it too often here, but a bit and brace (they sure are getting expensive) : , metal spile, pale and a stove top is pretty low budget. ;D My yellow birch hasn't woke up yet to tap. ;) :D

Frogs??? They have a while yet to thaw out. :D