A day in March is better than a day in April

[Sunday Rock Maple]

I've kept records on the sap sugar percentage for each run for the past 8 years and have (what I think) is an application that may provide better results going forward based on a few assumptions, but I thought I'd post it here so folks can comment on the validity (or lack thereof) before I do something different next year.

So I've got 2,700 taps and I assumed a gallon per tap on an average day and used the 8-year average sugar content for that day to arrive at the gallons of syrup produced. Then using the amount of syrup that would have been made with 1.5 percent sap (the overall average) as a base I calculated the value of the difference using bulk pricing and lowered the bulk price by $0.030 per pound for lower grade syrup in April. I then plotted that over an average season (I'll attach that if I figure out how) and it looks to be that for my woods a day in March is about $500 better than a day in April. Thus, a bias for earlier tapping than I historically have would seem to pay off over the longer term.

So does this make sense, or perhaps I'm making bad assumptions. or maybe just stating the obvious that others have long been doing?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[TapTapTap]

When possible, I plan to be tapped and ready to receive and boil sap by the middle of February. This year it paid off with 3 February boils starting on Valentine's Day. Had I waited, then my first boil would have been March 17th! We ended up with a great year which could have been less than mediocre if we hadn't been ready for that mid February thaw.
Ken

[Pdiamond]

Ken, you are quite a bit larger than I but I would like to know when did you start tapping for this year?

[GeneralStark]

I think you have already convinced yourself, but in my experience February sap is gold. Catching it requires preparation, but that preparation pays off in March when it really matters, like you said.

[TapTapTap]

Ken, you are quite a bit larger than I but I would like to know when did you start tapping for this year?

We timed it perfectly and were tapped in the second week of February, just in time for the pre-Valentines day run. It took about a week to tap.
Ken