To plow or not

[mike z]

I have one main road back in the woods that I travel with the wheeler to collect sap. Right now we have about 15" of snow on the ground. Should I keep this road plowed open in the winter to allow it to freeze or will I have more problems in the spring when the frost comes out? Thanks for the advice.

[3rdgen.maple]

I keep mine plowed out the best I can. What happens is when it is just packed down the sides of the packed down tractor path melts before the packed snow and it makes for some really hard steering when that happens. Tractor constantly will slide off the path. I think as far as mud goes come spring either way you arent gonna stop it. With a wheeler I believe it is gonna be alot harder to navigate a trail once the snow keeps getting deeper. Besides it gives me an excuse to be outside and play. If you want to decide whats best for you then just plow some of it and see which works out best then the following season you will have your answer.

[Bucket Head]

I'm with 3rdGen. Keep it cleared if you can. Your going to have mud eventually, but half melted snow and then refrozen and rutted roadways are bad news. Does'nt matter if its a truck, tractor or wheeler, it can become a handfull with, or without a load of sap on.

Steve

[ejmaple]

keep it plowed, you never know how long the snow pack will last. could last into tapping time.

[cvmaple]

Better to be able to get there than not when spring arrives. The packed down snow will last longer than unpacked and keep you out of the mud for a few days. Try to collect first thing in the morning when the road is still frozen. just my two cents. cvmaple.

[michiganfarmer2]

My plan for the future is to get a 4x4 tractor big enough that the snow depth wont matter.

some of the old (30 years old) big 150 horse 4x4s are pretty cheap. A lotta times under $10,000

I dont need 150 horse power, but I want the large tire diameter

[mapleack]

My advice in a perfect world would be run mainline to a cleared road. In the real world, plow your trail, but keep the trail as far as possible away from trees you want to tap. 20' or more minimum. Maple's have shallow roots that tractor ruts do great damage to.

[michiganfarmer2]

Maple's have shallow roots that tractor ruts do great damage to.

That is soomething I did not know. Thanks for the info. Actually I have considerd pumping the sap from the woods up to a more accessable location

[Brent]

I try to keep the path as bare as possible through the winter so the freeze goes as deep as possible. Then when it come to sap time, I like to keep a little snow on it to keep the ground frozen as long as possible.

Someone up there does not always understand my game plan though

[Maple/Cherry]

You may not need 150 hp but you want 150 hp.