Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

I also am trying Bob's Barb spouts this year. It's nice to work with someone who is so knowledgeable and passionate about what they do.

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Originally Posted by Mooneybc

Excited to see if there will be any noticeable impact on my typically low sugar content (usually around 1.3-1.5%).

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In our testing during development there was a small increase in sap sugar content using the arc barb spout. This was on vacuum. It was on the order of a few tenths of a point higher.

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Originally Posted by Rastis

Antimicrobial droplines and spouts sounds interesting. Can you elaborate on the benefits?

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Any improvement in sanitation at the spout and dropline typically will result in an increase in sap yield. Antimicrobials reduce the level of microbes in the taphole, which delays the tree wound response and keeps tapholes flowing at a higher rate for longer. Previous versions of antimicrobial spouts could not be certified for organic maple production (the MVM versions can) and tended to be fairly costly, so the economic benefit was lower.

https://mapleresearch.org/search/?_sf_s=sanitation

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Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins

In our testing during development there was a small increase in sap sugar content using the arc barb spout. This was on vacuum. It was on the order of a few tenths of a point higher.

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I'll take it! Bought 300 this year. I've got about 170 zap backs changed out so far. They seem to be well made.

What’s the coldest temperature someone is able to tap? Any thoughts?

I have tapped below 0 deg f before if I knew the sap was going to run the next week. Do what you have to, to get the job done to get all the sap you can because it takes some time to get the vacuum tightened up.

Finally some above freezing temps! Anything flowing in Vermont yet?

We were flowing while tapping yesterday in the Upper Valley.

Wind, snow depth, and some serious cold last weekend, have this current run a bit underwhelming. Next week looks like ideal sap weather for northern and central VT.

the sap flow today is certainly underwhelming but expected with the weather we've had this winter. i got about the same flow from last weeks warm up. just enough to make you think, "ok, here we go" but at the end of the day... nope. next week certainly looks like the start of the season!