Author: Les Ober

Ohio’s 2024 Drought & Next Year’s Maple Season

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Ohio is part of a severe drought that has affected many states east of the Mississippi and is experiencing what many Western states have had to live with for years.  This is all part of the seemingly endless series of weather events that stem from changing climate.  Of major concern to maple producers is the effect this drought will have on maple syrup production during the 2025 season.  Let’s look at the current U.S. Drought Monitor map.

As you can see the extreme and exceptional drought ratings are in southeastern Ohio, and an even larger portion of the state is categorized in the Abnormally Dry to Moderately dry conditions. One saving grace is that the one area currently unaffected is a portion of northeastern Ohio that includes Geauga County and most of its adjacent neighbors.  From experience in the 1988 drought, conditions can change very quickly; however, autumn is a bad time for a drought because you tend to go into winter with lower subsoil moisture reserves. How might all of this affect maple production?

Rather than paraphrasing a brief article by Dr. Timothy Perkins written at the time of the 2022 drought, I will simply quote his thoughts on how drought affects sap flow.

Sap flow is more dependent on soil moisture during the spring itself…so snowmelt and rain during the spring are quite important. However, there seems to be a couple of impacts on sap sugar content and tree growth. Think of leaves as the engine of the tree. The fuel is sunlight. But in order for that engine to run at peak levels, everything else needs to be operating correctly. If soil moisture is lacking, stomates in the leaves close, so carbon dioxide cannot enter the leaves and be “fixed” into sugars. So, drought reduces photosynthetic carbon gain (production of sugars), resulting in reduced growth and less storage or sugars in that ring of wood formed during that time. Fortunately, the sugar we collect as maple producers in sap comes from many tree rings (20-30 depending on tree growth rate and taphole depth), but the outermost tree rings tend to be the most productive (more sugar and higher hydraulic conductivity…meaning the younger pipes/vessels work better), so there can be some small reduction in sap sugar content due to drought. This is more apparent when we have several years of drought in a row.

From personal experience, I would be more concerned with this drought if it extends and expands into the winter. Winter snow accumulation has a major impact on recharging the subsoil and sap flow, and subsoil moisture is everything when it comes to sap production.


Photo courtesy of Bret Kaufmann

As Dr. Tim pointed out the greatest impact is from extended drought that lasts more than a few months or even multiple years.  What the producer is looking at is an above and below ground response to the drought.  During a drought the air temperatures increase, and winds also often increase.  This accelerates evapo-transpiration through the leaves, causing the leaves to dry out.  At the root level, the fibrous hairs on the roots are lost thereby reducing the amount of water flowing through the roots into the tree and up to the leaves.  One of the first things a producer will notice is the leaves drying out and in some cases dropping early.  This can also trigger dieback in the canopy, but many things can cause maple dieback.  In the first year of drought, this is normal and not a major concern.  If the event prolongs however, producers might want to cut back on tapping in multi-year droughts.  This could be nothing more than restricting tapping to one tap per tree, or in extreme cases, the producer might want to skip tapping a sugarbush in the spring of a drought’s second year.  An additional concern during any drought is heightened fire hazard risk.

In the near term, should producers consider not tapping a sugarbush that has been through some of the state’s most severe drought?  This will depend on how long the dry condition lasts and what the soil moisture looks like as we go into spring.  A lot can happen between now and the tapping season.  Heavy rains could change everything, and everything depends on the next several months’ weather going into next season.  One thing to consider is that our maple seasons are coming earlier than the historic norm; another earlier season will cut down on the amount of time the trees will have to recover from this most recent drought – if and when it breaks.  At this point, it is likely a wait and see situation.

Succession Planning

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Hanging on the walls of the Geauga County Extension Office are photographs of the Geauga County Maple Hall of Fame inductees.  Many are producers who have passed on.  The sad truth is that very few of those sugarbushes are still operating today.  There are stories to tell but no one to tell them. The maple heritage is slowly being lost.  What will happen to your maple sugaring operation when you are no longer able to run the operation?  For many the answer is simple – one of my family members is waiting in the wings to take over.  For others it is far more complex.  Will the operation be viable enough for someone outside the family to take over?  Whoever steps in to fill empty shoes, is there someone to guide that person along the way?  Succession planning can help smooth the road for a successful transition.

Economic viability is one of the biggest challenges a sugaring operator faces.  Today, the economics of agricultural production seems to be working against the small producer.  At one time, this was a statement that really did not apply to maple production.  Maple seemed to be isolated from the production and marketing pressures of other crops.  It was highly specialized and for the most part produced on a small scale of family farms.  Today, even though the retail price and the demand for maple products is on the upswing, it is getting increasingly difficult to cover expenses and make a profit.

My concern, is for the new producer, trying to break into the business.  When you look at the risks involved in running a maple operation, they are increasing with every passing year.  Based on UVM Benchmark Studies, the best chance for success starting out should be with 5000 taps and up.  The average investment for a 5000-tap operation is 36.00 per tap (UVM Benchmark study, 2020); that includes tubing and processing equipment and the sugarhouse.  If you assume the operator has done his homework, and his operation is running efficiently, the average yield per tap will be approximately 1/2 gallon of syrup per tap on a good year.  Unfortunately, not every year is a good year.  Again, with increasing input costs, can a new producer survive in today’s economy?

The maple industry, just like the rest of agriculture, is aging.  Older agricultural producers are dropping out because they can no longer run the business and no one in their family who wants to take over.  Farms are rented or sold to larger corporate farming operations.  One thing I have noticed that is different in maple syrup production – there are a significant number of young folks who have a strong desire to make syrup, especially if given an opportunity to work into an existing operation.  Assuming these connections can be made, the question the existing owner needs to ask is this – is it better to give up partial control today or watch the business disappear forever tomorrow?  Sooner or later, it will be time to let the next generation take over and pass the operation on to someone who will value it as much as you have.  I know young producers who have done well with the transitional challenges of stepping into an existing operation; however, I can also point to examples where the spark fizzled and the operation’s fate was only temporarily delayed.

Again, I would reiterate that very few sugarmakers want to deal with or accept the reality of transition, but it is inevitable as the clock winds.  Ask yourself these questions?  How long do I want to continue sugaring?  How long can I continue sugaring?  Am I setting up whoever is next in line for success?  Am I making a good reputation for small and local producers?  What can I do to get young producers involved in maple sugaring?  Do I have a plan for what’s next?  Is my plan in writing or just in my head?  If your desire is to keep your sugarbush operating, now is the time to sit down and plan a transition to the next generation and cement your legacy.

For more information on Succession Planning, contact your local Extension office to learn more or look for an OSU Succession Planning Workshop near you.

We’re Back!! NASS Maple Survey

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Several weeks ago, I received a phone call from a USDA Crop Survey NASS representative; NASS standing for the National Agricultural Statistics Service.  During the conversation, he asked if I made maple syrup.  I was very surprised to find out that NASS was once again conducting the annual Maple Syrup Production survey in Ohio.  We have not been included in the maple survey since 2019.  At the time, it was the opinion of the USDA that Ohio did not produce enough syrup to be included in the survey, in addition to 6 additional states that got lopped.  However, 5 years later we are back on the survey agenda.

Why did this happen?  I think it was due to the Buckeye State’s good showing in the 2022 Census of Agriculture.  I want to thank our producers who took the time to fill out the Census Survey.  I think the information that our producers sent to NASS was the number one reason that Ohio is back on the list of NASS-recognized maple producing states.  We showed improvement in almost all categories.  Over the last 5 years, Ohio has also been the recipient of two ACER Grants with a good majority of the research being done at the OSU-Mansfield Maple Research Facility.  The Ohio State University is now one of the few universities where maple syrup research is being conducted.  This may also have played a role in the decision.

Why is this important for those working in maple research and education?  A good source of statistical data is vital when presenting programs and writing articles about the Ohio Maple Industry.  Without numbers, we are just making educated guesses that rest on assumptions or making the leap of using data from other states and hoping that they also apply to our state.  Both approaches can be problematic.  That is not good enough when you are writing educational articles or doing research.

The International Maple Syrup Institute’s special NASS Survey Committee worked hard to improve the USDA NASS Annual survey and make it easier for producers to fill out.  The Committee was made up of representatives from many of the northeastern maple producing states and the USDA.  Ohio was the western most state on the committee.  They listened to what we had to say and that helped immensely.  My parting request to Ohio producers is to continue filling out the maple surveys.  We need your cooperation to stay in the system.  As always, the information you send is private and will not be given out to any other group or agency.  Thank you once again for your support!

~ Les Ober

2024 Maple Season Summary

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Thanks to Les for his take on the 2024 maple season. 

If you are an Ohio Maple Syrup Producer, how would you describe your 2024 maple season in one word? Early, different, weird, disappointing, average, surprising, long, short, exhausting, and the list goes on – perhaps even some words that cannot be printed here.  Many local producers experienced the earliest start in the history of their sugarbush.  This was followed by the earliest shutdown in the history of their sugarbush.  Early tappers (NEW YEAR’S DAY!) were the fortunate ones, producing three quarters to a full season crop.  There were some hardcore traditional sugarmakers that like to go by the calendar; it was a one run and done for them.

From a metrological viewpoint, this was as close to a record winter as you can get, and we are not talking about cold.  The climatological Winter – December, January, and February – was the warmest since 1931.  By month, December was the third warmest on record.  January was close to average except for the lack of snowfall.  You need melting snow to keep moisture in the ground, and sap flowing from the trees.  February was one of the warmest on record.  This was all predicted in NOAA’s three month forecast back in December 2023.  If you are a maple producer, it was fairly clear.  You were warned.  Waiting until the first week of February to tap was not a good move, but it was better than waiting until President’s Day or when the Moon was right or because Grandpa always tapped that weekend.  The middle of January saw the only extended cold period, but after that, it was game on.  Those that tapped in early January were ready to harvest the big runs that came at the end of month and into February.  This gave the early birds a running start at an average to above average season.  The downside was low sugar content in the sap.  Despite getting record volumes of early sap, the sap to syrup ratios were dismal.  50-60 to 1 ratios were common and widespread.

This is a very lighthearted overview of a very challenging year.  On the positive side, producers made some very good syrup that did not have quality issues.  Officials at the Geauga County Maple Festival Contest reported, “The overall grade color was darker than last year.  Flavor was decent and was representative of the color.  In a year like this with an abundance of warm weather, you would expect some off-flavor syrup to show up in the contest, but that was not case.”  Thanks to adequate crop being produced in Northern New England, there will be no shortage of maple syrup for US markets.

When you have higher than average seasonal temperatures, it is far more likely that off flavors will appear.  I have noticed that it is not uncommon to make Amber and even Golden syrup with an off flavor at the very end of the season.  The off flavor is the product of sour sap, or possibly buddy sap.  Most off-flavor issues are the result of warm weather leading to a massive buildup of microbes in the sap.  An indication of this quality breakdown is rust colored niter in your filter press that is very hard to filter out. Ignored, conditions will go to slime and end up as ropy syrup.  This is caused by bacteria in the families Bacillus and Micrococcus.

Now comes the real challenge!  How do we prevent the possibility of this poor-quality product from entering the market in a year when a large percentage of producers may be facing a shortage of syrup for their customers?  Do you bottle the syrup and hope no one notices?  After all it may have good color. The rationale of the past was that most customers would not pick up on the off flavor.  After all, they are used to high fructose corn syrup imitations.  The answer is clear – never compromise the quality of the syrup you sell.  Quality should always be the trademark of your maple operation.

In the end, what have we learn?  We added one more year to the string of abnormally warm maple seasons that we have experienced over the last 5 years.  Ohio producers need to be ready to tap earlier than they have in the past.  If you are an experienced maple producer, you know when the time is right.   This means that in 2025, when New Year’s Day rolls around, you may need to cut the party short and head to the woods.  In fact, it is not a bad idea to be ready before Christmas.  This is not a recommendation to tap in December, just an admonition to be ready.

Is February the New March?

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Remember when Les said he would come back at the season’s conclusion to tell you in 20/20 hindsight exactly what you may already suspect, he’s back to make some sense of the 2024 sugaring season!  Enjoy.

The Ohio maple syrup season ended on the first weekend in March.  This comes less than a week after President’s Day, the traditional starting date for the season in Ohio.  Of course, not this year as many Ohio producers started the 2024 season in January.  If you are a maple producer, you must wonder if the climatologist and everything we have been hearing about our climate is right.  Is February becoming the new March?  

Let’s analyze what we have seen and experienced in 2024.  OSU Climatologist Dr. Aaron Wilson has been telling us that the winters will get milder, and Spring will come earlier.  Once again, I refer to historical weather data to make a point using Weather Underground weather history maps.  Dating back to 2021, here is what I consider a relatively normal March (below).

Here is February of this year, 2024 (below).

It has been reported over the last several months that we ended 2023 with almost record-breaking high temperatures for November and December.  In fact, the climatological winter (December, January, and February) was the third warmest on record.  The 2nd warmest occurred in 1931.  The warm weather sent a warning to many maple producers, alerting them that something unusual was about to happen.  In Ohio, those that tapped in mid-January got it right.  Those tapping right after the first of the year were rewarded with 6 to 8 weeks of maple producing weather.  Many recorded over 14 boils before the first of March.  This year undoubtedly sets a new benchmark for early tapping.  Why did this happen and what can we learn from the experience.

The winter of 2023/24 followed the long-range forecast’s prediction.  With the exception of the invasion of a cold air mass in mid-January, the mild temperatures came back and continued throughout February.  This set up some extraordinarily good runs throughout the state.  However, a troubling and confounding factor was the overall lack of moisture.  I would say that many parts of Ohio were below average on moisture during this period.  Dryness in the woods is not good for maple production.  It is much preferred to have 4 to 8 inches of slowly melting snow, at the very least, lots of rainy days interspersed through the season.  I have seen woods that face north where the snowpack will last almost to the end of March.  These woods have produced good runs all the way to the end of March and even into April.  Not this year.

Here is the graph (above) showing the high, low, and average temperatures for the first two weeks in March.  The important thing to look at here is the minimum and maximum temperatures that clearly show we not only had daytime temperatures in the first two weeks March above 50 degrees F, but also had nighttime temperatures that approached and even hit 50 degrees.  This totally wiped out the freeze/thaw cycle, and we all know you cannot make syrup without a freeze/thaw cycle.  Sustained temperatures above freezing will undoubtedly be a recurring problem into the future.  Warm temperatures also accelerates the accumulation of Growing Degree Days, pushing the trees toward budding.  However, buddy sap did not end the season in much of Ohio.  It was the acceleration of microbial growth resulting from an abundance of unseasonably warm temperatures causing the sap to warm and foul systems.  It is almost impossible to make quality syrup under these conditions.  During the Ohio Maple Tour, I tasted multiple samples of syrup made in early March.  Just about all had that sharp taste of syrup made from sour sap.

Now comes the real challenge!  How do we prevent the possibility of this very marginal syrup from entering the market?  Especially in a year when many producers in states like Ohio had a poor year and now have syrup of questionable quality to sell.  Do you bottle the syrup and hope no one notices?  After all, it may have good color somewhere between Amber and Dark Robust.  The rationale in the past has been that most customers will not pick up on the off flavor; after all, they are used to high fructose corn syrup imitations.  The question now turns becomes, how much high-quality syrup will be made in the Northeast and in Canada this year?  Will the syrup they sell to the big box stores have better quality than what our customers can buy locally?  We already know it will most likely be less expensive.

In the end what have we learn? We added one more year to the string of abnormally warm maple seasons that we have experienced over the last 5 years.  For Ohio producers tapped in January, many experienced a near normal season.  Operations made some very good syrup that did not have quality issues.  Their markets are covered.  This also means that in 2025 when New Years Day rolls around, those producers who gambled right in 2024 will again be ready to tap trees at the first signal of good sugaring weather.  Unfortunately for many Ohio producers tapping later in the calendar, this year will be a hard lesson.  Those that tapped after mid-February found out that you cannot trust Mother Nature, because she does not read the Calendar.

A Little Science behind Maple Sugaring Weather

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Hands down, the number one question that comes up this time of year is “When should I tap?”

Due to the warmest December on record, I have heard a few Ohioans even asking “Should I have tapped in December?”.  When you look back over the years, the trend has been toward earlier tapping dates, but hoping that you can keep taps open for 3+ months is a bit of a stretch.  There is no way that will happen on a gravity system, and you will need more than a little luck even on high vacuum.

The scientific approach to planning involves studying climatological data and developing a plan based on that data. The maps below are long range weather predictions for the next three months. You can clearly see that all indications point to above normal temperatures for the next three months. For sugar makers what does this mean?

To quote a good friend and fellow maple researcher, “when you look at forecasts you need to look at it from the big producer / small producer perspective.”  Because most small producers tap everything at one time, they need to consider the value of a good short-term, 30-day forecast.  In most cases, especially if you are on a gravity system, you need to find the best 30-day window that will allow you to make the most syrup.  Once you tap, you are on the clock and that clock runs out shortly after 30 days.  On the other hand, if you are a large producer or even a medium producer on vacuum, you need to study yearly trends.  Trends will disclose what has happened over the last 3 to 5 years.  What we have seen is a trend to earlier tapping just about every year.  In most cases, early tapping has paid off in Ohio.  A major reason is that newer technology lends itself to pushing the envelope when it comes to tapping.  You have the advantage of running a semi-closed vacuum system utilizing 24/7 operation.  This lengthens your season considerably.

One of the most valuable pieces of data you can use are temperature history graphs for your location.  Weather Underground has some of the best.  They plot the maximum, minimum, and average temperatures.  Plotting the maximum and minimum will give you a good idea on the number of freeze-thaw days to anticipate for a month.  As we all know, freeze-thaw cycles are very important and drive daily sap runs.  You can look at these cycles over a five or even ten year period.  Over time you begin to see how various weather patterns play out.

Keeping in mind these are zip code specific but we are talking at the broad scale of an entire state, here are three February graphs. You can clearly see we started February leaving a warm end to January on two out of the three graphs.  In all the graphs, conditions continued to warm up as February wore on.  In two out of the three, the temps dropped going into March.  This may be a hint for what could happen this year.  2020 and 2022 were almost normal.  In both cases, our records show average to above average production.  2021 was the outlier and production was down for that year as temperatures stayed warm through most of March.  The other two years highlight the fact that starting out February warm does not mean you will march into March warm.

Too much science?  Here is a more common sense approach that prioritizes the size of your operation.  If you are tapping thousands of taps, you must start early to get the job done.  For a moment, think about a huge 50,000-tap operation.  Should they consider tapping right after the first of the year?  Definitely!  One of their strategies is to tap 5,000 taps super early.  This results in the Facebook posts you may have seen bragging about syrup being made over Christmas.  Several big producers in the East did this in December.  Does that mean they tapped everything?  Most likely not.  A large commercial producer hedges their season by tapping some early and the rest over the month of January with everything in the tree and ready by February 1.  Small producers who are setup to boil early can also do this, the only difference is they may start tapping their early running trees shortly after New Year’s but plan to finish out in February.  This keeps fresh taps in the system and prevents you from putting all your eggs in one basket.  The best way to accomplish this is to keep very good records.

That brings us back to our initial question.  When should I tap this year?  All indications are that we are going to have a warmer than normal winter.  If you are in Southern Ohio, you might be tapped already.  North of I-70, you should probably hold back until the end of January.  This is where analyzing the 30-day forecast is critical.  Studying several long-range forecasts a little closer, I noticed that we may have some of the coldest weather of the winter on the last week of January and the first week of February.  While the forecast is showing a warming trend coming off several weeks of genuine cold weather, depending on your situation you may even want to hold off until the first week of February.

Of course, the joker in the deck is the El Nino weather event we are experiencing.  El Nino’s are known for extremes and all it takes is a bend in the jet stream and you could be looking at 10 more days of below average weather.  Once this happens, you usually go right back to the warmer than normal pattern.  In this case, cold weather is your friend.  What we do not want is 10 days straight above normal!

As for my prediction!  I will tell you what kind of season we had in 2024 on the first week in April.  May your sugar season be long and sweet.

Ohio 2023 Season Summary – “A Tale of Two Halves of Ohio”

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I think everyone would agree the 2023 maple season was anything but normal.  It started with a fierce snowstorm in late December and ended with a chaotic mixture of warm and cold days.  If you are an Ohio maple syrup producer, how your season went seems to be a matter of location, location, location.  This winter was either too warm, too cold, or just right.  Depending on where you live and when you tapped, it was either all good or all bad.  Once again, Mother Nature had the final say.

The season kicked off early despite a surge of extremely cold weather at Christmas time, but warm weather arrived shortly after New Year’s.  The one thing Ohio producers have learned, when it looks and feels like tapping weather, you tap.  This year, many producers – I can confidently say more producers than normal – in both Northern and Southern Ohio started tapping in January.  Those tapping in early January experienced strong runs going into February, but many early tappers saw sap flow slow or completely shut off going into March.  The weather in February largely determined the success of your season.

Southern Ohio producers saw sap flow and sap quality end by the first week of March at the latest, many producers didn’t even make it out of February.  The jet stream kept the cold air pushed north, but abnormally warm temperatures plagued the southern part of the state.  More northern producers had strong sap runs into St. Patrick’s Day and beyond.  For the calendar tappers who traditionally waited until mid-February to tap, the season was average at best.  Overall, it was “ A Tale of Two Cities.”  Some northern Ohio producers experienced one of the best seasons in recent decades, but many southern producers experienced one of the worst production seasons in recent memory.

For producers who will associate the 2023 season with more positive memories, syrup quality held up remarkably well despite a season with so much variability.  Ohio made lots of Golden Delicate and Amber grade syrup.  The flavor was excellent for the most part until the warm weather ended the season.  Even then, a lot of lighter grade syrup was made right up until the last boil.  The biggest problem was filtering, excessive niter made it very difficult to filter and that high niter was reported from many producers statewide.  One of the reasons for outstanding yields was the good sugar content of the sap, averaging close to 2%.  Once again, the best yields were achieved on high vacuum tubing systems, but many bucket/bag producers had a good season as well.

Maple syrup is made all over the Buckeye State, but Geauga County is the number one maple syrup producing county in Ohio.  This year, the county lived up to its reputation in a big way, and production records were set across the county.  It was not uncommon to see syrup yields hitting or exceeding a half gallon per tap being produced.

Fall Maple Assessment – Get Ready for Next Season, Part II

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Read the first installment of our autumn mini-series “Get Ready for the Season” here.  The first article focuses mainly on the woods, and Part II sticks to the sugarhouse.

It is perfectly natural after a long hard season to put off sugarhouse cleanup and maintenance. This can be a major mistake. Getting the sugarhouse ready for the next season starts immediately after last season has concluded.  Dirty unmaintained equipment sitting around in warm weather can promote the worst of unsanitary conditions that will surely haunt you into the upcoming season.

Let’s start with storage tanks. Not everyone can afford bright shiny stainless-steel tanks that are easy to clean. Many producers substitute more affordable plastic tanks. Unfortunately, plastic tanks have earned the reputation of lowering syrup grades due to rapid microbial growth. All of the elements for rapid growth are present. The sap supplies the food and the tanks warm quickly. Where do the microbes come from? They are hiding in the porous interior of the tank. That porosity is what makes it almost impossible to thoroughly clean a plastic tank. You may get by for two or three years but sooner or later the tanks will have to be scrapped. The cost of three or four plastic tanks over a ten-year period can add up quickly. Consider the economic value of a stainless tank that should last forever if handled and maintained properly.

Reverse osmosis (RO) has revolutionized the dynamics of the maple syrup industry. For the commercial producer, the RO has drastically slashed labor and fuel expenses. When it comes to maintenance, the most critical element is maintaining the primary filter or membrane. Membranes that are not maintained properly can be severely damaged. Damage can lead to the passing of sugar into the permeate tank. This results in a hidden loss of profits going down the drain. Always check your permeate for abnormally high sugar content. Washes of both soap and acid are used in the cleaning process followed by an extensive permeate rinse. A properly maintained membrane should last for many years. Another critical but oft overlooked issue are increased levels of chemicals being discharged from the sugarhouse. When you are using an RO, you are discharging thousands of gallons of liquid through your sugarhouse drains. You are also discharging acids and soaps through the same drain. If possible, neutralize the chemicals by bringing both acids and soaps back to a neutral 7.0 pH before you flush them down the drain. Neutralizing agents are readily available from your maple dealer.

Producers tend to overlook where and how they store there concentrate before boiling. When you concentrate sap, you are creating the perfect storm for a microbial outbreak. You are doubling, and in some cases tripling, the amount of sugar in the tank. When you run the sap through an RO you also boost the concentrated sap’s temperature by at least 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Assuming the concentrated sap is housed in a relatively warm sugarhouse, it makes no difference if you are using a stainless or plastic tank, microbial populations always explode in concentrated sap. The first line of defense is to boil the concentrate as soon as you can to prevent grade deterioration. If you only have enough money to purchase one stainless steel tank, make the purchase for your evaporator feed tank. This is doubly true if you are concentrating with reverse osmosis.

One of the best maintained pieces of equipment in any maple operation must be the evaporator. After all it is the center piece of most sugarhouses. Producers tend to take pride in how their evaporator looks inside and out. Here are a few things to consider before you start the season. Make sure all of the fittings and gaskets are functioning properly. It is good idea to do a test boil before using. You do not want to waste sap or concentrate if there is a malfunction. During the season, always start each day with clean niter-free syrup pans. Do not let niter build up. Excessive niter can cause a pan to overheat and even burn. Make sure you are using defoamer properly and in the proper place. If you are going to be shut down for a long time due to a warm spell, plan on draining your pans to prevent microbial buildup. Attempting to keep the liquid on the evaporator will only lead to contamination of fresh sap when it arrives and the production of poor-quality syrup. In a freezeout situation, make sure to inspect your pans to make sure they are not freezing solid. If they are, light a fire and thaw out your pans so they do not break. Again, emptying the pans is not a bad idea. Along with your evaporator make sure your filter press and auto-draw off are functioning properly. Improper maintenance of your evaporating and filtering equipment can result in the production of poor-quality syrup that will cost you money in the long run.

After the season, make sure everything is cleaned and stored properly. There are many ways to clean an evaporator and it comes down what works for you. Avoid using any kind of detergent in the cleaning process. Hot water and elbow grease wins out every time. At the end of the season, make sure your syrup is stored properly. There is nothing worse than opening a barrel of your top grade, only to find out it has spoiled. Syrup is best stored in a location where it stays below 70-degree Fahrenheit. Even though you hot pack your syrup it is wise to roll the drums, if possible, several times during the offseason. This agitation helps eliminate moisture condensation from collecting at the top of the drums due to temperature fluctuations.

If you are planning to upgrade your sugarhouse, keep in mind that this is the best time to make sure your facility can pass a state or federal inspection. All of the rules and regulations are available online through OSU Extension.

You have now done a comprehensive evaluation of your sugaring operation. What are your most cost-effective “low hanging fruit” items? Act now – season will be here before you know it.

Fall Maple Assessment – Get Ready for Next Season

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The leaves have changed and have mostly fallen from the trees.  In some corners of Ohio, the first snow has already fallen.  For maple syrup producers, that means the push to get ready for a new season is upon us.  This is the best time of year to walk through your entire operation and systematically appraise your operation.  Now is the time to walk your sugarbush with a notebook in hand.  This assessment process allows you to locate the little things that make a big difference when the sap starts flowing.

Begin by looking at the most logical place first – your trees!  What condition are the trees in?  Are they healthy?  Did the June storms cause wind damage to the crowns?  The health of the trees will determine the number of taps per tree, and to some extent, the depth of your taphole.  If trees appear stressed, consider tapping a bit shallower (1.5 inches) rather than the full 1.75” or 2” depth.  It is not unusual to rest a tree for a season, allowing it to overcome obvious stressors.

Now reflect on your tubing system’s performance the very first year it was installed.   Compare that year to the way your system performed last year.  Have you noticed a drop-off in performance? It is easy to blame a poor season on the weather; in reality, the cause could be the age of your system and some neglected repairs.  For many producers, the first inclination is run out into the woods looking for squirrel chews and start repairing lines.  Do not get me wrong, that is important, but it is just one stage of a more holistic leak detection process.  The first order of business should be to inspect the lines for more systemic degradation and disrepair.  I hope that everyone is starting every season with all new spouts?!  However, your assessment should look deeper still.

When was the last time you changed the drops?  How long are the drops?  Are they long enough to allow you to reach around the tree?  Thirty-two inches is a good starting point for drop length in established systems.  What condition are your tees in?  Bad tees lead to micro leaks that sometimes are worse than squirrel chews because they are harder to locate and might be ignored an entire season.  What condition are your laterals?  Do they need to be replaced?  Are you noticing a mold buildup in the lines?  Are your lines patched together because of multiple repairs and damage?  When you replace laterals, it is a good time to look at the overall layout of the lateral system?  Count your taps on each lateral to determine if one is overloaded.  Remember, any given lateral should only be carrying 5 to 7 taps.  Also look at the slope of each lateral.  Is it running straight and tight and downhill for best performance?  What about your saddles, are they leaking?  Old saddles, just like old tees, need to be replaced on a regular basis – at least every 5 years.  Old saddles are often one of the major causes of leakage in maple tubing systems.

The next area of concern is the mainlines.  Ultraviolet light and wind damage are major causes of stress on mainlines.  Mainlines are good for 10 to 15 years, but eventually they must be replaced.  Yes, that is an expensive project!  However, the benefits outweigh the cost.  Installing new lines also allows you to remove damaged and unwanted trees during the repair.  Sugarbush stand improvement is important as it will improve the overall health and productivity of your sugarbush in the long-term.  Hazard trees, such as standing dead ash, should also be dealt with during a mainline replacement project.

It is easy to see how performing a pre-season assessment of your tubing system can be beneficial.  And that is just the tubing system!  After you walk your sugarbush – clipboard in hand – go back to the sugarhouse and develop an improvement plan. What must you buy?  In what quantity?  When will it arrive?  Are their supply chain delays?  Rank everything you have found in order of importance and start chipping away at your list – sap season will be here before you know it!

It’s Time to be Counted – USDA Ag Census

by at

Attention: Ohio Maple Producers

As many of you probably remember, USDA NASS stopped collecting Ohio’s maple syrup production data in 2019.  Since that time the Ohio Maple Producers Association, The Ohio State University Extension, and others have had no readily available annual data to use in the support of our state’s maple industry.  Without this information, the ability to present hard numbers in support of our industry to Ohio Department of Agriculture and Ohio’s Legislature has been limited.  Even though our ability to report annually is gone, Ohio Producers can report every five years via the Census of Agriculture.  In fact, just like the US Census, reporting to the Census of Agriculture is mandatory for all farmers in Ohio and the US.  On this note, I (Les Ober writing here) received the following request from Jean Lamontagne Executive Director of the International Maple Syrup Institute.

It’s Time To Be Counted!!

Greetings to all maple association leaders, please take note and inform your members.

 

“The Census of Agriculture is taking place this month! Every five years, the USDA takes a Census of all US Agriculture to update its complete count of America’s farms and the hardworking people who run them.

 

The census provides valuable information used at the local, state, and national levels to plan for the future and help ensure our country’s agricultural community receives the resources it needs. Participating helps inform decisions about policy, conservation programs, infrastructure, education, and more. It is also the only source of uniform, comprehensive, and impartial agricultural data for every county and state in the country. Make every voice count in the future of agriculture by participating in the census!”

 

All information gathered is completely anonymous and private.

 

 If you do not receive a census form in the mail in November sign up at 

 

https://www.agcounts.usda.gov/static/get-counted.html

 

Jean Lamontagne, MBA McGill

Executive Director IMSI

 

NOTE: It is important for our maple industry to respond to this survey and the annual NASS maple syrup survey.  An up-to-date, accurate and complete aggregate record of the US maple crop’s growth and yield gives producers, packers, and equipment manufacturers a competitive advantage compared to other businesses and industries that are competing for capital as well as public funding such as research grants. Being counted helps the entire industry’s ability to influence supportive public policy decisions at every level of government as well as benefiting from economic development programs.

Over the last two years, I have been working on a IMSI (International Maple Syrup Institute) Committee submitting proposals to revise the NASS Maple data collection protocol.  Significant progress has been made.  It is my sincere hope that if Ohio Maple has a positive response to the 2022 Ag Census, the state may be reinstated in some form.  This will only be possible if Ohio Maple Producers include their maple production data in the Ag Census along with the rest of any other commodity data produced on your farm.  Please support Ohio’s maple industry by including your maple data in the 2022 Census of Agriculture when it shows up in your mailbox this month.

It’s time to be counted!

Les Ober, Geauga County Extension Educator
NE Ohio Maple Syrup Program Coordinator
The Ohio State University Extension
Ober.10@osu.edu
440-834-4656