we've been having perfect weather the last week or so for sap production up here in the NEK. sort of wish it was March again... but the sight of green grass and ducks and geese on the pond is rather comforting!
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we've been having perfect weather the last week or so for sap production up here in the NEK. sort of wish it was March again... but the sight of green grass and ducks and geese on the pond is rather comforting!
The sap is still running here from tapholes drilled in early February... but I pulled taps two weeks ago... and I wouldn't want to try to make syrup with the sap. I too wish we had experienced this weather back in March and early April!
What's a sap seller getting paid for % bulk price on "processing grade"?
Last year it was .16 cents a gallon. It appears I shut my pump down a little too soon. My buyer was able to get another 3+ gallons per tap after I shut down. It’s been fun to read how some are still running. I was told Organic price has been set, but I don’t know what the price is. Anyone know? I have been very busy on other projects that have distracted from sugaring.Quote:
Originally Posted by GeneralStark
Spud
We shut down today, our buyer is done. Organic price for producers making over 35000 pounds delivering with own drums is 2.28. Processing grade for same producer would be 1.68. Processing would seem to be worth making for larger producers but our buyer picked up at least a few partial loads which seem to have pretty low margins when sap is so weak.
last load went out yesterday as well, flow was pretty incredible. haven't crunched the numbers yet but i do know we had 39 gal of sap per tap, which is crazy. wish it had tested higher!
I'd encourage all Vermont producers to consider contributing information to the Vermont Maple Bulletin https://vermontmaplebulletin.wordpress.com/ a running description/update of each maple season done by Mark Isselhardt of UVM Extension Maple. Just shoot an email to Mark.Isselhardt@uvm.edu to get added to his list of contributors.
Interesting short piece on the local news (from August 2019) my wife just forwarded to me about "Vermont Maid."
https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/ne...nt-maid-syrup/
Lot of companies like this popped up around this time.
Thanks Dr. Tim. It is always great to see maple history in the news; however, this piece was a little weak with the facts of the Vermont Maid story. One can read a piece on my maple syrup history website that shares a corrected and more detailed version of the history of Vermont Maid. I hope folks enjoy it!
The Beginnings of The Vermont Maid Brand of Blended Syrup
Matt Thomas
www.maplesyruphistory.com
Oh for sure Matt....you definitely can't rely on short news pieces for the full (and correct) story. I've come to accept the news as a mixture of information (of varying accuracy) and entertainment. Thanks for sending the link.
I am looking to replace my base stack for my 2x8 setup. I am located in southern Vermont, where is the closest show room for items like this. Any help/info would be appreciated.
I think Bascoms in Alstad NH
Address: 56 Sugar House Rd, Acworth, NH 03601
Hours:
Closed ⋅ Opens 7:30AM Wed
Phone: (603) 835-6361
Finished cutting and stacking firewood.Attachment 21616
Wow! That's a lot of wood. You must have one of the larger wood-fired operations.Quote:
Originally Posted by sjdoyon
Ken
I got nervous about having jugs for the season and went ahead and placed an order from Bascom. The funny thing is that 2 of the 4 packages arrived by a little car, instead of a Big Brown van. The 3rd box is due later tonight. I'm wondering if the guy's running back to the terminal with his little car to get that one because he couldn't fit them all in. Then box 4 is due Friday. What do you bet that Big Brown shows up for the single 4th box?
Hi Everyone,
Hope y’all had a semi decent Thanksgiving given the circumstances of this bizarre time. I am a new maple tapper and have built a sugar house to get started into this addictive sport.:cool: I have a good amount of trees accessible to me, but I am looking to start off tapping 50-100 taps on gravity this year as a start. I am looking for someone to show me how to do a well planned layout and the how to’s of rigging the mains and laterals and drops in this first sugarbush. If you all know of anyone, or would be willing, I am open to hearing from them/you regarding cost and services. I really want to start off on the right foot this year, and hope to continue adding to my small operation. Any feedback or help would be greatly appreciated....
Ellen, West Charleston where Echo meets Seymour
I have: Lapierre Waterloo Small 18x 48 propane evaporator
A 5 x 400 gpd RO RB35 Reverse Osmosis
2 275g collection tanks
1 500g collection tank
Kabota Grand L4340 aka The Honeybadger
2018 Polaris XP 1000 EPS
2020: 6 drops to 5g’s, 10 quarts on home stove
2021: Can’t Wait!!!;):mrgreen::o Nervous excited!
Won't be long now with sun solar flares. The deep freeze has hit my area now.. waiting sort of patiently for the sap release now.... *eagerly rubbing hands together*:D
I am feeling the same
I've been super busy making, selling and shipping product and trying to finish up some non sugaring projects around the homestead. No major changes this season but I did take the evaporator apart and made a few repairs to the arch. A couple minor details to finish there but no biggy. I also really scrubbed the soot side of the flues on the back pan and got it back to almost like new...
Still have some wood to finish up in the next couple weeks, but I did finish clearing a bunch of downed trees off lines. Lost a couple taps to blow downs but will be gaining a few to make up the difference and then some. I'll be changing out a few hundred drops and doing some repairs before tapping. Planning to be ready to tap by mid to late January as usual.
Replacing half my drops this year and gonna add 300 more taps once that is done.
treehugger what happened between 2017-18. 100 to 1000 taps. Wowie!
40”’of snow down here might slow us up a bit. Not looking forward to the snowshoe
Yeah that's quite a bit of snow to be dealing with... as much as I love it I'm glad we only got 5". From the reports I have seen, it looks like most of that 40" fell in a very short period of time. A report from Ludlow suggests a snowfall rate of 9" in one hour, which is insane.Quote:
Originally Posted by PARKER MAPLE
I’m glad we only got 20”. That’s enough for me in one storm.Quote:
Originally Posted by PARKER MAPLE
lot's of hard work and a much lighter wallet. Needless to say I got bit by the bug.Quote:
Originally Posted by vtbackyardmaple
OMG! That's like 3" of rain in 1hr! Hurricane like rain. Better check with my friend. He's close to there... well I guess not... sort of...Quote:
Originally Posted by GeneralStark
according to weather channel...
On average, thirteen inches of snow equals one inch of rain in the US, although this ratio can vary from two inches for sleet to nearly fifty inches for very dry, powdery snow under certain conditions.
Hey little hogback... you know my father in law.... Dennis Maloney! Almost everyone over there knows him.
Anyone tapping for Wed/thursday 50 degree days in VT?
Not in the warm weather. I like hitting the frozen trees much better. The 26t though I'm going for it. hopefully it will pay off starting a little earlier this year.
Wow 40” of snow last week Friday to now only 5-6” and lots of bare spots in the woods.
Warm rain all day sure did change things a bit.
Tapping my lines today and putting up buckets.
How many taps and buckets do you run randolphvt
50-70 taps
Keep me posted on your sugar content I'm curious about your early success
Sap collected this morning tests 3.4 brix.
Awesome chiefy. My wife and I are planning on tapping Thursday morning, the next week out looks like prime weather for a run here
Get out and tap Vters.
https://weather.com/forecast/nationa...e-outlook-2021
Our propane tank is coming tomorrow for the sugar shack and we plan on tapping tomorrow mid-day. Maybe we can get a boil going this weekend. What size evaporator do you have randolphvt and do you have a r.o? I'm Curious of your setup and would like to have you down to ours if you're ever in the area
Starcat with blower and ro 4 x 150gpd membranes.
You can see my evap in the homemade section of the forum.
Buckets overflowing this morning. Good run overnight.