To tap or not

[Farmer Jim]

Hello. This is my first post and I thank you for all the good info here. I have been making syrup for our own use on and off for many years. I grew up gathering buckets with a tractor and cart in the '70s. I have been running 130-140 taps and using an old 2X6 English tin evaporator. We are not tapping this year and I have ordered a stainless evaporator as the tin one is shot, as well as I always taste tin. Now my questions. I have read many posts here to tap every maple. I am curious about what is economically the wisest, tap every maple or leave straight ones for timber? Long term and from the perspective of getting something going that will assist my children with keeping the property, will returns from syrup be better than from timber? I like that the trees can be tapped every year as opposed to cut down only once. I have not completed an inventory, but sugar maple potential taps is in the 3000-4000 range with at least that many red maple potential taps. I have areas facing all 4 compass directions and all areas but 2 could be run directly to the sugar house. The remotest area is about 4500' away and could gravity to a tank to be gathered. Your thoughts and opinions to help me decide what to do next will be appreciated.
Thank you, Jim

[farmerdon74]

Jim, this is a question i have asked myself i spoke witha friend who just logged a good piece of his ground because he did't have the help. he recived about 175k for the loggs (real nice timber) and payed the goverment about 55k in tax. he harvested the crop with no wright off. maple makes a good profit over along time with good wright offs and equity. just my thoughts as we are farmers too. good luck and may the LORD bless your indever.Don

[Farmer Jim]

Timber harvest as done normally works as you say with a bunch going to taxes. When done by the owner, all equipment and supplies can be written off. When done in small annual increments, taking into account other income for the year, it is possible to sell some every year and not pay the large amount in tax. My hope is that if each tap is worth X dollars per year after expenses that in the long term sugaring returns better than cutting the trees. I have nothing to confirm this though.

[chad]

I would say tap as many as long as you can, but also be a good steward of the land by managing the trees with select cutting and keeping the grove healthy. And hey all the trees make good saw logs unless they are rotten, if its a tree that has been tapped just cut off the bottom few feet for fire wood

[Burnt sap]

Read my signature...

[Farmer Jim]

I have been managing for forest health for the time we've been on this ground, nearly 20 years. I've made mistakes, but in my mind was always the thought of trying to make decisions that were about the long term after me as well as what we need now. An example is a 7 acre patch of maple in one area that had a lot of pole size trees and a fair number of visibly unhealthy older trees. I cut and sold a couple loads of the declined trees 10 years ago and thought the pole size would make saw logs down the road for someone else. After looking at those trees a couple days ago with my new plan of tapping, I see that in maybe 10 years we could put on several hundred additional taps from that spot. They are in the 8-13" range and even if they were to be harvested by someone else 100 years from now, there would be nice logs even after cutting off the bottom tapped section. In what is the original sugar bush here, I took out some poor big trees the second year we were here and the seedlings that covered the ground are now nice saplings that will someday replace the giants that are passing one by one. I see the untapped potential of what we have all over the farm and think we would be better served to develop a nice syrup operation that pays some every year. I have convinced myself to pursue this. Our ash are declining so I have been selling them to finance the maple operation. Now I just need to get enough knowledge to see how to set up tubing systems efficiently and correctly the first time.. I have a 3 X 12 on order and am laying out the first parts of this new journey.