Sweet Tree Maple, Good-Bad-Indifferent ? will it / Can it Work

[n8hutch]

This is obviously a topic that people are interested in. I have Read a little about it in the papers, a few magazines. What do you folks out there think. It sounds like quite the experiment to me. What will its effects be long term? Any opinions out there?

[spud]

Sweet Tree Maple will not be selling their syrup to a packer because they already have a market. They plan to buy bulk syrup in time and be the largest packer. They are in the very early stages of setting up their operation. They are buying tons of equipment that is costing millions of dollars. They also spent millions just running power to their operation. They have been forced to build a reservoir just to handle all their water running out of their ROs. The list goes on and on and the cost is going up and up. The average sugar maker has about $20-25.00 per tap just in set-up cost. The hope is to make the money back after the third year. After that profit will be shown until all new equipment replaces the old. Sweet Tree Maple is spending so much money per tap that by the time they even think of showing profit all their equipment in and out of the woods will have to be replaced. The other thing to factor in is NO large operation gets much more then a quart per tap. A guy with 5000 taps can expect a .4+ per tap because he is right on top of his operation. This will allow profit to be shown after the third year. An operation like Sweet Tree Maple who spends 5 times as much per tap to only make half the production has no chance of making it.

Spud

[sjdoyon]

We're located about 30 minutes from Sweet Tree and have been watching the activity the past year. Number of folks in town are now working for them. They have definitely spent millions setting up the operation and reportedly plan on spending millions more in the coming years. They signed a lease for a 100,000+ sugarbush outside of Island Pond. Since it is an investment company running the activity, I would think they would have a profitable plan in place (investors don't like to lose money). Cost per tap is definitely very high. Since the company is offering employment for the area, I hope things work out for them. They hired 14 local residents to work in the RO room and walk the woods. They also are hiring crews to boil.

The unknown is where they plan to market their syrup. Rumor has them selling their syrup to Europe.

On a side note, a 12,000 acre timber lot went up for sale this fall about 15 minutes from the Sweet Tree sugarbush. The 12,000 acre lot is being advertised as a potential large sugaring operation. Timber company is asking 9.5 million.

Dynamics could change for the county with the success of Sweet Tree (which would be good for the rest of us sugarmakers in the area). There are plenty of sugarbushes in the county, just some difficult terrain in most areas.

Looking at the positive side of the success of a large sugaring operation in the area.

[wiam]

Sjdoyon, I got an ad from a realtor for that property. A little out of my range.

[Moser's Maple]

not to go off topic fellas, but how is this land inflation effecting your land taxes over there???

[wiam]

That is only $792/ acre. lol that parcel has a conservation easement and that should help with taxes. We have a program in VT called current use which taxes farm/forest at use value rather than market value.

[spud]

I put my property into the current use program and it cut my taxes in half. You have to stay in it for ten years or you pay a penalty. It's a great deal for sure.

sjdoyon- I would love to see Sweet Tree Maple succeed but I just don't think it will happen. If this can help the local economy in the area then that is great. A friend of mine is the overseer of the whole operation.

Spud

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

I am just hearing about Sweet tree with the recent local article. They plan to have 200,000 taps set up by next year. And 500,000 total on 7,000 acres. Wow, I thought I was ambitious. That would require setting up 16,667 taps per month to be ready for next March 1st, assuming they stared a few days ago. Even if they already have some set up, that is still a lofty goal. Of course, I would guess they really aren't gonna start running taps til the snow clears and roads are built. Which means they will start running tubing in ? May/June maybe. May would be ten months or 20,000 taps to set up per month to get 200,000 for next season. It will mean a lot of people and a lot of jobs for Vermont's NE kingdom. SO that is good. However, 200,000 by next year, I will believe it when I see it:)

Ben

[DrTimPerkins]

My understanding is that they have over 120,000 taps in place already for this season.

[sjdoyon]

They have around 95,000 tapped for this spring. I heard they want to be at 200,000 for next spring (2016). Numbers are big and crazy. It's interesting to see how you have to set up to collect/process this much sap.

[sjdoyon]

or 120,000 this spring.


They have around 95,000 tapped for this spring. I heard they want to be at 200,000 for next spring (2016). Numbers are big and crazy. It's interesting to see how you have to set up to collect/process this much sap.

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

That makes more sense. 80,000 more by next year seems within reason. Still, 500k total is pretty amazing. I wonder how this one operation will impact the percent of maples tapped in VT? I think VT is around 10% tapped now +/-.

[wiam]

County forester said they will have around 90,000 this year. Sap will be ROed in the woods then trucked to evaporators. They are a scheduled stop for this years Maplerama.

[pennslytucky]

with that much sap to boil, they should set up a steam turbine power plant on site. a half million gallons of sap on average per day is an amazing amount of liquid. thats over 4 million lbs. 2 thousand tons. 100 full tanker trucks every day.

[spud]

Sweet tree Maple has 97,000 tap for this year. As of the other day they had just 20,000 more to tap and they were going to be done. With an average run of one gallon per tap and a sugar content about 1.7 they should make close to 2000 gallons of syrup per day.

Spud

[n8hutch]

Can non Vermont Maple producers go on those Maplerama trips?

[DrTimPerkins]

Can non Vermont Maple producers go on those Maplerama trips?

Absolutely.