New Quota

[themapleking]

Have you read the Maple News on the Canadian Quota. Really not fare What the Gov. is doing to them. Fixed price of $2.00 a lb. And a national quota of 65 million lbs yearly. Only paying the producers 85% of what they produce. Who pockets the other 15%.
This means there will be a higher demand for U.S. syrup. Until we get tapped out and screwed by the U.S. gov.
Both Goverments like srewing the farmers and don't want to help them. I guess it's true that all of the food does come from the stores like the citits say. My 2 cents

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

Joe-I read the same thing but think of it as this-With the open market system that they were using before producers were getting bent over bigtime by the packers that only wanted to pay around $1.15Lb or $12.65 a gallon of syrup and then bottle it up and charge $30-40 a gallon-I figure the farmer did all the work to produce the product so he should set his own price on what he thinks he has into it. Myself I rather see $2 a Lb. then $1.15 or less wouldn't you? If their game plan is right(The Federation)???? They will control the supply side of the equasion and then have the packers where they want them in their game?Marketing is the other big game.It's like an auction-you figure out what it's worth to you and if you feel the price is right-you buy it. If not you pass.Same thing with the dairy farmer...Kevin

[powerdub]

I don't think there is a dairy farmer around that would like the government to come in and say you can only produce 500 gallons of milk a year. You will send us the 500 gallons but we will only pay you for 425 gallons now at an inflated fixed price. IF the rest sells, we will settle up with you, but if it does'nt we will keep it as surplus. Now when the farmer makes 600 gallons he is out of luck because he can't market it himself. A lot of the producers up there have the capabilities of making a lot more syrup than the gov. lets them. Even the equipment manufacturers are feeling the pinch from this system as no one can grow and expand. I don't believe the best interest of the producer is being served. I agree that the dairy farmer is getting a major short end of the stick but I would not want to see the quota system for them either.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

There are pros and cons to this quota. The biggest con is that there are more and more producers coming on board and with new technology, more and more taps are being added and the market is getting flooded with syrup. I do agree that it is better to get paid $ 2 @ lb versus what it was. Just think if we had to sell our syrup for $ 12.65, how long we would continue making it. 8O 8O I get at least $ 40 out of my gallons.

The supply and demand rule will normally fix most problems. If there are too many producers and too much syrup, sooner or later some of them will go bankrupt or out of business and the market will balance itself. Simple ecomonics either way you look at it and there is no good answer. I think the best answer for the Canadian market is to try to open up new markets overseas for the products. This will increase demand and price and open up the demand for more producers. I am afraid in Canada that there are too many of the big shots calling the "shots" and the small operations that is the main source of income for the family will suffer. With the money in some of the European markets, there should be plenty of room for expansion and most of the markets are friendly to Canadian products(at least I think so).

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

It will probably come down to who can hold out the longest?? more then likely the farmer will fall in at some point as he is counting on the crops income to pay some or all of his bills...Kevin

[powerdub]

You hit the nail on the head WestVA about a few things. The problem is, the federation is the big shot and the producer has no say no matter how big he is. The federation caused all the problems by buying everyones syrup and creating this huge surplus and now they are trying to fix it with a quota. If it were the producer eating that surplus every year he would naturally scale back but sinse the federation was buying it up even at a deflated price it only made sense to the producer to make up that money by making more syrup thus creating more surplus. I doubt you would be happy getting a few dollars more for your syrup if when you sent in your 100% of the years yield got paid for 85% of it and wait in hopes the other 15% sells at some point. If it does not and the surplus grows you lose that 15% and will get told at some point you will get to scale back and make less syrup in the future. I do think you are right about new markets but I don't think the federation has enough cash to be that agressive. That kind of marketing is best left to the producer but since it won't help the Canadian producer directly it makes no sense putting up the cash. Call me greedy but when I advertise it is for me and my syrup not VT syrup or maple syrup in general. I think the federation needs to step aside and let the producers duke it out. Like you said they will either survive or go bankrupt.

I would also like to add that I think we as "small" producers have an advantage over the others. Most every small producer I know has their own customer base who are very loyal and are more than happy to send their neighbors by to buy where they buy. Every year my customer list grows and every one of them knows exactly where that syrup was made and if, thats a big if, there is any problem with the product my phone # is on every jug. In this day and age of syrup adulteration and mad cow disease and e-coli scares I think people are looking to buy from the local small guy. It gives them a sense of security knowing they bought the syrup from the "small" guy who made it with "big" pride. We are an elite group. Those mass producers aint got nothin' on us, you can taste the difference.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Way to go Scott. I just finished a post underneath the Nov Journal section to this same effect and didn't realize you had made this post earlier. I agree that if a person is smart enough to make syrup, he ought to be smart enough to find markets for it and if he can't, then let him/her find another job. I don't mean to sound awful, but it's economics.

There is a major economic problem when you produce a product and then rely on the government to sell and/or market you product and this is some of the overall economic mindset in Canada. I am sure a lot of people are against the Federation, but the big guys have all the money and all the pull. Lappierre is the biggest producer in the world and has a huge equipment manufacturing business to boost and he has a lot of say in what happens.

I market nearly all of my syrup to individuals and word of mouth is the best marketing tool you have on your side. If you make a good product and treat your customers like gold, you will have more demand that you can supply if you grow with your market. :D :D

[powerdub]

Lapierre is bound by the federation as well. He may make more syrup than the federation says he can but he can't sell it. They tell him how much they will buy and it does'nt matter how much he makes. This whole thing is hurting his manufacturing buisness as well.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

Supply and demand???About like gas prices right now/They cut down on the production and what happened? And gas prices are now starting to drop around here-Do you think people are going to stop driving to work and walk so this will the decrease the demand and cause the price to drop? If it's $10 for a gallon of gas and your still gonna ride if your over a couple of miles away from work.I'm not 100% sure on how the quota works(Only from what i hear)It's sounds like the federation is working for more $ for their maple syrup produced(Call up bascom's and see what they will pay you for a Lb. of say medium amber and see if thats better $$ then the federation is paying them at 85%) This may or may not change your mind if your a bulk producer in canada???Like brandon said markets needs to be devoleped. And i figure their starting on the home front...Kevin

[ennismaple]

Just saw this thread for the first time. The quotas only apply to producers in Quebec - which makes 75% of the world's supply. From what I understand they have been subsidized to set up their bushes and must sell everything to the marketing board that they don't sell farm-gate. Last I heard they have 48 million pounds of maple syrup in a warehouse that is up to 5 years old. It has been pasturized and sits in barrels waiting for orders that need to be filled.

Here in Ontario (and in New Brunswick) we are free to make as much syrup as we can sell. Unfortunately we are dwarfed by our neighbour who essentially controls the market.

[nhmaple48]

Ain't socialism a wonderful thjng.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

No wonder the syrup they sell in Sams with the enzymes from Canada is less than $ 17 per 1/2gallon, it is probably older than I am. 8O

[ennismaple]

Costco sells a 1L jug labelled "Made in Canada" for $10 (cdn) around here. I make sure to tell everyone I know that Made in Canada means Made in Quebec because if it was made in Ontario we make darn sure it's clearly labelled as that.

When asked to justify my prices vs Costco I compare maple syrup to wine: You can buy wine in a box for cheap that's technically still wine. However, you get what you pay for. I can tell you the day my syrup was made. Chances are with the Costco stuff you don't even know the year, let alone who made it.

[sweetwoodmaple]

Good analogy with the wine...I'll have to remember that. :D

[can'twaitforabigrun]

I would like to add that the Federation in Quebec is not a government organization but is privately run, though they do receive some government assistance, which maple producers in all regions are able to access in one way or another. Also, the Federation is not run by big shots, but is controlled by the producers themselves, who vote on any changes in much the same way that a cooperative is run. It was set up as a means to group together producers to counteract the big shots (packers and bulk buyers). Here is a link to the history of the organization directly from their site: http://www.siropderable.ca/Afficher.aspx?page=246&langue=en . All producers in Quebec are able to sell directly to consumers at whatever price they wish. In a way anyone can do the same thing if they and their maple producing friends got together and formed a co-op to market their syrup. The only difference with the federation is that if you area producer in Quebec you can't legally market your syrup to bulk packers on your own.

[Homestead Maple]

Thank you for posting his information. Very interesting.