Can't wait,
Wondering if the maple industry is the same as the dairy in the respects to quota production. In dairy you cant just start selling milk you have to purchase quota shares from a retiring or selling off farmer.
I hauled cattle to north of Montreal from a local farm down here. The new farm owner was in his mid 20's and had bought his dads quota and a neighbors and was adding on cows to the home farm. He could have added the cows on his own but any milk over quota would gain him very little money in his milk check.

Is this system still used and is this how maple is run to keep supply and demand in check?

Further more: We have a beef farm that we raise angus cattle on and do sell freezer meat as well as animals thru the auction. The Taxation state of New York has sent out to some producers a form to file with your Check Off Funds for the past year or years for any animals that were sold thru private treaty or slaughtered. Since all animals born on the farm and that leave the farm are to have a farm id tag installed in their ear and these tags are received from the state this is rather easy to track. So the US is in the same position as Canada on Socialistic enforcement of policy. I totally understand that the check off $$$ is supposed to got to advertising for increased sales but I have been to several meetings and seen other things that were funded by these funds that is not releated to furthering the purchase of beef.

So don't think for a moment that we, the maple producer, is insulated from this sort of stuff in the future. Right now we are in a good place and we need to stay banded together so that we continue to protect ourselves and our liberties. The best way to do this is to continue to produce high quality products in safe structures and follow recommended sanitation procedures for the equipment we use. Grade and label correctly and visit those that do not and try to explain the damage they are causing to our industry. I have a local producer that I was told a few days ago had all but one plastic bottle on a store shelf was moldy when checked by the store owner after a customer complaint. The product was thin and sounded like it was not density check prior to bottling. This is not how we gain market share over imported product but how we loose to imported product. While typing this post I received a request to come and supply a store that is dissatisfied with their current supplier. Good for me but how many customers have been lost from poor product or supply issues?

We all need to keep an eye on quality control to keep customer satisfaction at high levels to keep or product useage up during poor economic times.

Ben



Thanks Ben