2021 in the books

[TonyL]

Wrapped up our season today with 33 gallons of syrup. Processed almost 2300 gallons of sap to get there, with our last few days topping out at 1% sugar. The weather was not ideal, as the late cold spell nearly ran the clock out on prime syrup time. It just got too warm, too fast. We were still getting that low sugar sap today, but the forecast isn't good with no below freezing temps on the horizon. So we called it and pulled our taps. Ended up with our second best season ever, which I credit to the fact we switched over to shurflo vacuum this year. That let us continue to get that 1% sap when the trees had nearly quit running. We also have a home built RO, so we could utilize the low sugar content.
I hope my fellow Hoosier sugarmakers are also finding success!

[Ross]

It was a fast and furious season. With the cold weather we lost the month of February but had a busy few weeks and boiled for the last time Tuesday night. Froze what was left in the pan that we still need to boil down and we should end up with 20 gallons of syrup off of 100 taps. We added a blower to our arch this year that doubled our boiling rate and found some ways make the operation go smoother. Already planning for next year.

[Mitchell tapper.]

I had a good year. Made a little over 11 gallons off 30 taps. Bought an ARO diaphragm pump this year which performed flawlessly. First year I didn’t have to jack with the pump. Sold some syrup last year for the first time. Figured I would try to cover my yearly expenses. My granddaughter helped make some lollipops last night. They turned out good but still need to perfect them. Next year will be my third year since replacing the tubing so I going to try check valve spouts. Glad everyone had a good year. Take care, Scott