"Leasing" Land?

[RoundAboutSugaring]

Well I have outgrown my own land. I am looking into tapping on other property. Who does this? How did you find the land? How and what do you pay them? Whats the best way to go about doing this? I want to get about 200 more taps.

Thanks for any help.

[tuckermtn]

check some of the past archives, but there are many ways to work out arrangements with landowners...we trade a fraction of finished trade syrup for sap. we tap on 12-13 different properties, and most don't really care if they get anything in return, but most folks are happy with the pint or quart I give them at the end of the season. I don't have any written contracts with folks, but I know folks who do.

one of the more creative ways I know of for finding sugarbushes is from Parker...he's been up flying with a local pilot who has a float plane on the lake here...seem to remember Parker timing it to when the sugars have their distinctive leaf color- he can tell you more...

-tuckermtn

[RoundAboutSugaring]

I searched and couldnt find anything. I thought that this was the time to get everything set for this sugaring season, right? So should I post an ad on Craigslist in the paper or what?

[Russell Lampron]

Look at areas near where you live for trees that are not currently tapped and ask the land owner if you can tap them. A gallon of syrup for 100 taps is a normal rate for those that want to exchange syrup for taps. Treat all land owners the same and if using tubing find out if you can leave it up all year.

Russ

[maplekid]

i am currently tapping on rented land and all i pay is a gallon of syrup. not alot of land( 2 acres) and i can get 100 or so taps from it. i worked it out with the lady and she said give me 25% of what you make and you can rent it for 2 sugaring season at a time . just try to see if you can pay in syrup and go from there

[H. Walker]

I tap some on government land with a land use permit for 50 cents a tap. Nothing can be left after the season!

[maple flats]

I tap on 2 other properties and I give syrup in exchange. I do about 1 qt syrup/30 taps.

[3% Solution]

I tap on 8 different pieces of property, that's 8 different owners.
I am not charged for the use of the trees, but those folks get syrup.
I give either a quart or a half gallon, depending on how many taps on an owners property.
A couple don't even want syrup, they just have fun watching the buckets fill (these folks will call me when the buckets are full) or watching my grandchildren help out gathering.
Just my .02 worth.

Dave

[220 maple]

I have a friend who has some pretty nice maples on his property, he has offered them to me for 1 gallon of syrup for every 300 gallons of sap I get from them. Does that sound fair??
Mark 220 Maple

[maple flats]

That is much higher than any trade I have heard, but it is all dependant on what you are OK with. For all of the work involved I would not be that generous. If his trees are good you will get about 1 gal syrup/40 gal, so at 1/300 you will need to make all of your money on the remaining 260 gal of sap. If all goes well you will get about 6.5 gal syrup to his 1. If anything goes wrong you will get less because he would get his gal first. If his trees average much under 2% sugar you will do even worse, but he will still get his gal 1st.

[Dave Y]

No! That is way too high. It should be around 30-40 cents a tap or 1gal of syrup per 100 taps or so. JUst my opinion.

[Fred Henderson]

Yep, 1 Qt per 25 taps. Least that is what I give them and they all happy.

[Jim Brown]

We lease 100 acres. 11 miles from the sugar house.We have a signed and noterized 7 year lease with a 7 year option. We pay 25 cents per tap on natural flow and 50 cents on vac. We offered the land owner money but he requested to be paid in syrup. We pay by the first of April each year. I suggest that you have some thing in writing as people have a tendence to forget things, also if some thing was to happen to the person that the deal was made with then you may have to remove things in a hurry,buckets,tubing etc.
my two cents!

[ziggy]

40 -50 cents per tap is what most producers are paying around here, and can leave the tubing up year round. If I had to take it down I would want to pay less.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

One of my bushes has aprox 125 taps and I give them 9 quarts of syrup. Good trees and good amount of sap and it is worth it to me. At $ 12 per quart, that is $ 108 but fair to me and works good. They have never ask for anything, but it is distant family members and a bunch of heirs own the property and I split up the syrup among 6 family members that have the most to do with property among the three families involved.

[RoundAboutSugaring]

So now I guess all I have to do is find some land. Do you think I will have a difficult time finding a place that will allow me to collect the sap with an ATV?

For the people that tap on other land that use buckets. How do you collect? I was thinking I would have to buy a bigger truck (currently a 2004 Ranger 4.0L 4x4) I was thinking of going for an F250. My thought is to have a tank in the bed, but the only tanks I have seen are for a fullsize bed so that wont work with the Ranger. The towing rating on my current truck is only 3,500lbs. So having a trailer, wheeler and tank might start to push the limits. Plus I plan to get a 4x4 tractor and I would need to be able to tow that also.

[Russell Lampron]

A 210 gallon pick up tank should fit in a Ranger. I had mine in an old S-10. It is kind of small in a full size pick up bed and looks really small in my 1 ton GMC.

Russ

[Breezy Lane Sugarworks]

I occasionally put my 425 gal. tank in my '03 GMC 2500HD and it handles it fine! but it does sink the frame down a bit...about 1" from the axle hitting the rubber stops when running over!

[Dave Y]

I have 99 Ranger 4.0 4wd w/off road package. I hauled sap in a 210. While it will do it, the load may be hard on equipment. My automatic transmission is now slipping after hauling the 210 full about a dozen times or more. loaded a 210 weighs 1700lbs. I now have a 1 ton dump w/a550. That works much better.

[RoundAboutSugaring]

Not only would it be hauling the sap but also a trailer and a 4 wheeler. So it probably wouldnt like it. I have a manual Ranger. The tow rating is 3,500 vs close to 6,000 with the same setup just auto which I think is a little strange. :confused: