Chances are he was using the threat to cut all the Maples to get paid not to cut. Most of these investors don't care at all where the money comes from as long as it is in their pockets.
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Wow, one guy now owns 25% of the taps in Maine and now he wants a ransom? That's not a very good situation.
I hope this turns out better than the way it appears to be heading.
If his trees are worth more for lumber than for maple syrup production, he should cut them down and sell them.
By his logic, every maple tree of similar size would be worth more for lumber than for syrup production. So maybe I should contact the government to pay me not to cut down my maple trees.
Seems like an extortion plot to steal money from the government (and a government to which he has make significant campaign contributions, according to the article).
Mark
I like maple as much as the next guy but these seems like it's a sweetheart deal for the Canadians that run the leases. They are close to the border and don't have to abide the quota in the states. With that said if they want to contact me and I will gladly go setup shop up there. lol In my opinion market forces should play out. If the lumber is worth more log it. Seems doubtful if this has been sugared for a long time. If the leases generate enough revenue to pay for the land so be it. Seems wrong to ask taxpayers for money for something like this.
In the long run it's better to have the leases. You cut the timber and it's not ready to cut for another 40 years or so. What usually happens is it gets cut then put back on the market. And the owner uses the profits to buy the next piece.
Most of the woodlands in Maine are owned by timber companies and the roads are only plowed in the areas where they're harvesting. These huge sugar bushes are only accessible to Canadians which seems like a shame to me.
So Maine state generated money to purchase easements on timber land that will benefit one individual significantly and then benefit Canadian producers who compete directly with the Maine maple guys? Maybe I'm missing something here but seems like a ransom that does not benefit the local tax payers.
Many of the smaller more southern producers do in fact buy syrup for the bulk producers in that region. We have customers and retail sales and not enough trees. They have trees and good conditions but no customers other than large bulk buyers or the smaller guys in state. Most of the Canadians are members of Maine Maple producers association. They are good people who take pride in making good syrup and do support the maple industry.
There are Maine and US sugarmakers in that area and could be more. There are a few leases available however putting together a 20-50,000 tap operation get expensive there. One lease required proof of financial backing somewhere around $2.5-3,000,000 before being considered for the lease.
23600 acres! Poor old Paul Fortin. He is to big to fail, We bail out banks that are too big to fail in the US of A. Hey Paul sell a few acres of your 23 thousand, make a payment. I have a soft spot for a guy who can buy 23600 acres in the first place! Wonder what he paid per acre, at 50 dollars an acres that is 1.180000 dollars? Poor Paul?
Mark 220 Maple
Does anyone know what happened to this story? Did the state of Maine end buying the property?