Afternoon Schedule - NY Conference

Session III 1:15-2:30
Auditorium Facts and figures about wood fired Force-5 evaporator, Rejean Laverdiere, LaPierre Inc.
Lapierre Waterloo Small Hurricane force 5. A real gasifier-
What are the essential qualities of a wood evaporator.
-Combustion efficiency and heat transfer efficiency.
-Visual cues of a clean combustion.
-Wood species and wood seasoning.
-Force5 specifications.

LGI Vacuum tubing systems – How did we get here and what’s next?, Dr. Tim Perkins, UVM Proctor Maple Research Center
Maple tubing systems have been steadily improved over the past half-century. The introduction of plastic tubing in the 1950s was a major revolution, and led to innovation and massive changes in the maple industry. Newer tubing formulations and fittings have resulted in far better systems than existed 20 years ago. Tubing systems have continued to change as vacuum has increased in popularity. This presentation will describe recent research aimed at identifying current weaknesses in tubing systems that limit sap yield, and discuss possible improvements to optimize sap flow and vacuum transfer in maple tubing systems.
Media Center Ideas for handling firewood, Steve Childs, Cornell Maple Program
Firewood is the fuel of choice for many maple producers. Figuring out ways to improve the process of cutting, splitting, hauling, storing re-handling and firing are important to improving the efficiency and profitability of the maple operation. This session will look at a variety of ways wood handlers have tried to make their system work better.
Middle School Café. Maple cream making for the beginner, Dean and Ruth Esther Delevan, Delevan Maple
At this hands on demonstration Dean and Ruth Esther will show producers new to making maple value added products how to make maple cream using their home built, rotating pan cream machine while you make a little yourself the old fashioned way, by hand.
#11 The Economics of Sawtimber Management vs. Leasing, Mike Farrell, Cornell Maple Program
Have you ever wanted to lease a sugarbush but the owner was concerned about losing money from damaging the sawtimber value? Do you think its possible to make more money by leasing a maple tree vs. managing it for sawtimber production? This workshop discusses the economics of this difficult question by showing how to use the Net Present Value calculator available on the Cornell Maple Program website.
#12 Using Technology to Increase Profitability in Maple Production, Les Ober, Ohio State University

In this session Les will use the new OSU maple enterprise budgets as a guideline for adopting new technologies that can improve efficiency and profitability in maple operations. The budgets are specifically designed to compare operating with buckets vs. investing in tubing, adding vacuum to that system and then the advantages of using a reverse osmosis unit in conjunction with a vacuum tubing system. The program will also show producers how to estimate their cost of production and establish a price that will give them a reasonable return on their investment.

#13 Tree identification, Rebecca Hargrave, CCE of Chenango County
Whether you are tapping, thinning or just enjoying your woodlot, correctly identifying the trees is both helpful and fun. This session will provide the training for you to be able to identify trees common in New York.
#14 Producing syrup with the best maple flavor, Henry Marckres, Vermont Dept. of Ag
Selling maple syrup that always has great maple flavor is critical to keeping your customers coming back. This session will walk through the keys to making great flavored maple syrup and identify the most important pitfalls that create the off flavors you want to avoid.
Ag shop hallway Basic Sap House Setups and Considerations for the Beginner, Tour and discussion of VVS Sugarhouse
Tour the actual working saphouse of the VVS FFA including discussions of configurations, sap processing, syrup processing and bottling, utilities, and open house considerations. This tour starts in agriculture shop hallway.

Ag Shop So you want to weld stainless, repeated, limit of 20, Rob Roser, Agriweld
Rob will discuss the food safety aspects of stainless steel, then demonstrate the equipment and techniques of welding stainless steel. Presentation includes welding safety , tips and techniques when working with stainless steel and explores opportunities for maple producers. Examples of work will be displayed. Rob has 19 years of experience and a mobile welding unit for remote sites. Workshop is limited to the first 20 participants.

Music Suite Maple Queen and Princess Program
This workshop is open to the following: County and Regional Associations, Maple Coordinators, Maple Chaperones, County and State Queens, Princesses, alternates, and future Queens and Princesses. This workshop is intended to inform participants on appropriate language and attire for specific events. Provide you with more information about the maple industry. Inform participants of materials available to help support presentations. What do you do if at the event they ask you to say a few words and they didn't tell you ahead of time? Come have fun and learn about being a Maple promoter

Break 2:30-3:00

Session IV 3:00-4:00
Auditorium Gas wells and leases – what a maple producer should know, Brett Chedzoy, CCE Schuyler County
Learn how to protect your interests and ownership goals when leasing portions of your property rights for natural gas or related energy projects like wind farms.
LGI Keeping Maple Weekend Fun, Lyle and Dottie Merle, Merle Maple Farm
Maple Weekend has been an important part of attracting new clients, testing new products and expanding our market now for 15 years. This session will take account of what has been done to keep the visitors coming back and even inviting more friends for this annual visit to our farm. In addition to dealing with all the issues of parking, a busy highway, recruiting help, serving food, restocking products while boiling maple syrup, this is what we have done to make Maple Weekend both interesting and fun.
Media Center Tubing systems and taphole sanitation, research update, Steve Childs, Cornell Maple Program
For the 2010 maple season we were able to acquire the equipment to test new spouts and drops, check valves, old check valves and silver spouts in controlled conditions under vacuum as well as in a gravity system. Trials were also conducted with several cooperating sugar bushes. This session will focus on the results of these experiments and walk through using the charts and worksheets in the new Maple Tubing and Vacuum System Notebook
Middle School Café. Our experience making and selling maple pop with a pop machine, Bob Wright, Wright Farms
For two years Wright Farms has offered maple pop, or soda or soft drink (whatever you call it) as one of their maple products for sale at the Franklinville Maple Festival. They will demonstrate the commercial pop making equipment they use and share important tips they have learned to make this a successful line for them.
#11 Leasing Taps, Buying and Selling Sap, Mike Farrell, Cornell Maple Program
Are you a maple producer who is looking to expand production by leasing taps or buying sap? Are you a landowner who has maple trees and is considering leasing them to a producer or collecting/ selling the sap? This workshop is geared towards both current maple producers looking to expand production and landowners considering working with another producer to utilize their maples for syrup production. This workshop will cover aspects of leasing taps and buying/selling sap such as pricing, contracts, logistics, and how landowners can qualify for a tax break through agricultural assessment of sugarbushes.
#12 An Alternative Measure of Yearly Maple Syrup Production (Yield-per-Tap/Day); and A Comparison of Untapped and Tapped Sugar Maple Tree Growth: A Dendrochronological Approach, Bill Tyminski, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Research with maple trees continues to bring new features and ideas to light. The session will present new data on effective ways to evaluate just how productive a maple tree or sugarbush is. Just how much does tapping reduce the growth of the trees in your sugarbush? Here is some interesting research on the subject.

#13 Low impact timber and firewood harvesting – strategies for your sugarbush, Peter Smallidge, Cornell Maple Program
A large percentage of woodlot owners want or need to be more active in collecting logs or firewood from their property. On many properties, there are too few acres or too few trees to attract a commercial-scale operation. In other cases, the owner just wants to be more closely involved in the selection, felling and moving of the wood. This workshop emphasizes three subjects: safety, silviculture, and technique. Participants at this workshop will learn how to inspect equipment and tools, utilize safe practices, understand basic silvicultural principles, and make appropriate tree selection choices for multiple ownership objectives. The session is designed for novice to intermediate woodland owners and anyone interested in learning about and discussing sustainable woodland practices.

#14 Something new and different with marketing, Michele Ledoux, CCE of Lewis County
Looking for something new and different to help you get your maple products out to consumers? Then this is the workshop for you! Come with your fellow maple syrup producers to a workshop where you take home many practical ideas and tips that you can put to work for you right away!
Closing 4:00 PM