Maple Syrup in Ohio

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.

Another Topsy Turvy 2023 Maple Season

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Our 2023 maple season was yet another sub-par year subjected to early and frequent warm spells.  2023 marks the 3rd consecutive year that our first run of the season ended not because temperatures took a prolonged dive below freezing but because temperatures spiked into the upper 50’s or low 60’s.  Three years in a row!  Crappie fishing weather to end the first run of the season!  Starting off a season with a warm temperature spike sets the table for sanitation issues, and those challenges were forefront to yet another Ohio maple season.  For all practical purposes, our production season at the Ohio State Maple woods was over by March 1st.

Early tappers were rewarded this year making the most out of a tough season.  A few producers up north are holding out for a final run or two before also switching to post-season tear down and cleaning duties.  How the entire state fares is yet to be determined, but the individual producers I have spoken with are not ecstatic over the year’s production totals.  The bottom line is that Ohio appears poised to enter, heck we might already be in, a new normal.  Though spring is temporarily stalled with the current slight cool down, spring invaded winter like a unexpected marauding army.  To get an idea of just how early 2023’s spring has been, check out the time-lapse map from the National Phenology Network.

Regardless of whether you are a producer up north with a few more days of boiling on your horizon or if the season is a memory at this point, be sure to check out Future Generations University’s webinar next Thursday evening.  On March 16th at 7 PM, the Out of the Woods semianr series will focus on post-season sanitation.  Mike Rechlin and Kate Fotos are going to share best practice guidelines on keeping your sugarhouse and your sugarbush spic and span headed into the off-season.  You can watch the webinar on Youtube or get your own registration link through Zoom here.

More Upcoming Maple Events

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We’re tapped and the production system is flushed and tight with great vacuum.  Many thanks to our students and technicians for getting the 2023 sap season underway!

Join the OSU Extension team on March 1st for the annual Woodland, Water, and Wildlife Conference.  Kathy Smith and Gabe Karns will be presenting a seminar early in the agenda titled “Woodland Owners, Maple Syrup, and the New Maple Toolbox.”  Book your whole day with us though as many other interesting topics will be covered including buckeye tree conservation, aquatic plants and wetlands, Ohio snakes, spotted lanternfly updates, urban coyotes, and more.

If you are a consulting forester, work with a natural resource agency, or are otherwise employed within the environmental and natural resource career field, please join us on March 15th for an in-service workshop customized for you!  Learn how to assess a woodlands potential, what equipment will be needed, what options are available to a landowner interested in maple sugaring, and what else is needed to establish an operation as an income opportunity.

Maple Sap-Only Enterprises – Participants NEEDED

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Chris Lindgren and Dana Ruppert from University of Vermont are recruiting active or prospective maple sap-only producers to participate in a research project.

UVM Extension Maple Business is developing financial tools and technical guidance to help folks make decisions about maple sap business ventures.  To jump start this effort, they are currently conducting a Producer Survey to gather in-depth information on sap business economic activity across the maple region.  It is hoped that the information gained from the study will help maple sap producers understand and learn more about production practices, costs and markets to enhance business opportunities.  Production, marketing, business practices and peoples’ interest in the maple sap project and resources are at the heart of this survey.  Their goal is to reach as many regional sugarmakers and sap producers as we can over the next couple months.  The results of this survey will be published by UVM Extension, shared in industry publications and discussed at maple conferences beginning in 2023.

To take the survey – and remember this is for sap-only enterprises – please scan the QR code or visit Sap Survey at the Maple Manager website now.

This is a great opportunity to help the maple research community continue to build support and tools for all varieties and styles of maple operations.

Not Just Sugar Maples – Part I

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Ohio Maple Days 2022 did not disappoint.  The food was fantastic, the vendor room crowded, and the presenters shared a wealth of knowledge of expertise across a wide range of subjects.  I was among those speakers, and Abby van den Berg and I presented a pair of talks that focused on those other maples.  Abby’s perspective from Vermont and focused mainly on pure red maples (come back for Part II next week for those highlights), and my perspective sharing from the basis of our ACER-funded research on Acer freemanii, Freeman’s maple, or just “rilver” for short.  Before we get into it, be sure to mark your calendars for next year’s conference December 8th and 9th!

Let’s try this recap in a series of short statements.

1) Sugar maples are the gold standard for maple syrup production – there is no disputing that.

2) But other maple species probably deserve more love than they have traditionally been given.

3) Mounting pressures from climate change, forest pests, and a host of other reasons make other maple species more important to consider than ever before.

4) Because of the above, it makes sense to learn more about other maple species production potential.

5) We thought we had simple (red x silver) hybrid maples in the OSU Mansfield research sugarbush where we have our single-tree research stations.

6) We thought wrong.  Turns out the hybrid maples are more mysterious than that – stay tuned for further genetic testing!

7) Regardless of what other variety of maple we are working with it still made sense to compare their production potential and other characteristics to sugar maple.

8) Research began in the 2021 as we pulled over 20 sugar maples and 50 of the mystery maples into single-tree sap collection chambers that measured daily performance.

9) Research techs and research PI quickly learned that maple research can be icy cold!

10) The 2021 season was historically bad and we had 5 roller coaster runs total.

11) During the 2021 season, our mystery maples were not as sweet overall as sugar maples, however, the mystery maples held a more stable Brix level from the start of the season to finish.

12) Mystery maples lost ground to sugar maples in terms of sap production volume as the season got later and later.

13) Surprised yet?  Maybe not.  But consider this – the best half of our mystery maples OUTPERFORMED the worst half of our sugar maples in terms of syrup production potential.  Would that also hold true for 2022?

14) Fast forward 11 months to yet another choppy, wild, and erratic 2022 sap season.  When will we have another “normal” sap season?

15) Note to self, might have to add another 10 degrees to y-axis of Sap Run graph in 2023.  I surely hope not!!

16) More in line with studies elsewhere, our 2022 mystery maple trial trees matched or outpaced sugar maple’s sap volume production up until the final sap run of the year.

17) Brix consistently tracked 0.2-0.4 points below for mystery maples as compared to sugar maples.

18) Ultimately, we’re excited and hopeful for a “normal” 2023 season to collect data from a more representatively average season.

19) In the interim, both years suggest that mystery maples are not to be overlooked especially if you are an operator using reverse osmosis in your sugarhouse looking to expand your number of taps.

20) Stay tuned for 2023 – our 3rd year of ACER-funded research investigating alternative maple species production potential.

Ohio Maple Days & Workshop Registration DEADLINE Approaching

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Registration is sneaking up for the Friday & Saturday festivities surrounding Ohio Maple Days.

In order of their occurrence, Mark Cannella is hosting a maple business workshop representing by University of Vermont on Friday, December 9th.  Mark is offering this half day workshop with a focus on strategic planning, marketing and managing finances toward profitability.  Participants are encouraged to bring any business records and information of their own to apply during the workshop.  There are 4 SAF category 1 continuing education credits offered for the day.  Space is limited and seats are running out – register now!

Friday evening, you do not want to miss out on the One Sweet Gathering fundraising banquet thrown by the Ohio Maple Producers Association.  Register here!

And of course the main event on December 10th, Saturday for Ohio Maple Days.  We will meet again at Ashland University’s John C. Meyer Convocation Center for a jam-packed program on all things maple.  Updates on red maple research from both Ohio State’s Gabe Karns and the University of Vermont’s Proctor Maple Research Center’s Abby van den Berg.  Add to this other talks on reverse osmosis, marketing and insects impacting maple trees.  A maple themed lunch and a vendor room that features a variety of maple equipment dealers, consulting foresters and other associated equipment help round out the day.  There are also SAF continuing education credits available for the program.  Registration here.

 

 

It’s Time to be Counted – USDA Ag Census

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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

Ohio Maple Boot Camp

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We hosted Maple Boot Camp at Ohio State Mansfield on June 22-24.  Carri Jagger, Thomas deHaas, and Kathy Smith pulled this post together for the Buckeye Yard & Garden Online blog.

We cannot hold events of this quality without a lot of help and support.  A big thanks to Carri and Kathy, Mike Lynch from CDL, Mike Hogan of OSU Extension, Sayeed Mehmood, Les Ober, Mike Rechlin, Kate Fotos, and Mike Lucero.  I hope I am not forgetting anyone.  And an especially huge thanks to the Brown family at Bonhomie Acres and Stan Hess for opening up their operations for tours and interfacing with Boot Camp attendees.

Here are a sprinkling of photos to supplement what you’ll see at the linked write-up above.