Starting a Business in Maple Syrup

[The Jones Family Farm]

Has anyone felt uneasy about getting into the maple syrup business? We have a 240 acre farm with a approximately 300 trees that are accessible with a system where we have to pick up sap at two different locations on a vacuum system. We also have another 100 trees further out that might not be cost effective to collect with a vacuum system. Our plan is to invest in more areas to get syrup, but we are on the fence with whether or not this is going to be worth our efforts. I firmly believe that planting trees now would be a good longer term investment that would boost production significantly, but we need to be able to create a sustainable operation for the short time. I think selling the syrup is probably our biggest concern since we are not sure how easy it would be to sell 100-500 gallons of syrup at a profitable price. Anyone have some thoughts on this?

[Maple Man 85]

If you can sell everything retail than you could break even but look at the investment, at the current price of bulk I would not invest in a new setup unless there is an existing business in place so you're not taking the full risk of the investment.

What's the cost of the equipment versus the number of trees and don't forget to include your time (assuming you are not working for free).

At a couple hundred trees it may not be economical depending on how much you're investing. Any expansion we've done I've built a pros and cons list as well as treated it like an investment and would not invest if I couldn't see a return in 2-5 years.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't venture forward, I was a hobby producer for many years and donated my time and any earnings went back into my hobby. If you enjoy it as a hobby then do it, but if you want a business then it has to be looked at as a business.

[wnybassman]

The best way to make a small fortune in sugaring is to start out with a large fortune.

[markcasper]

Probably doesn't apply to your situation, but where I live we just found out that woodlands are bringing $3600 per acre. I asked the specific question in another forum as to how such an investment will pencil with - $2.00 /lb. syrup and people all over wanting to tap trees yet? Noone has yet answered the question because quite frankly I don't see it penciling out. Since you already have the land, and assuming it is paid for, then you'd just have the equipment. Around my area the market is saturated with people trying to sell syrup. It is good on one hand that it is readily avaliable, but many think that they can still get $15 per quart. IMO, prices need to be lowered in order to get more syrup on more tables. I can't see spending all my free time trying to sell all of my syrup retail, and selling for less than my neighbor(s), when I could be working overtime and get paid 3 or 4 times better for my time. So you sell it bulk, take the hit, and wonder how long your going to keep doing this?

[maplemas]

Is there a producer near by that would buy the sap? Woods are cheap to set up compared to a sugar house!!

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

As others have said, at anything less than a few thousand taps you're more of a hobby than a business. Set your goals on breaking even if you don't include your time over the long term. A 0.5 G/tap syrup is a respectable number on vacuum. Assuming you can hit that, you're talking about 200-300 gallons/year depending on how many actual taps you have. If you can do it al retail you'll make out OK but to pay off your initial investment will take a lot of time.

[mudr]

Is there a producer near by that would buy the sap? Woods are cheap to set up compared to a sugar house!!

Ugh, you are not kidding. I just started my sugar house project. Just a basic, classic, 16x24 and it's going to end up being a lot more than I expected. Oh well. Nothing is cheap and it's only money and I have a day job.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[maplenutter butter]

I'm not sure where you live in MN, but I would be interested in buying your sap. Message me if your interested.

[maple flats]

Making a profit in syrup takes lots of time and loads of work, along with doing everything right. A small operation is hard pressed to break even. To make a business of it you need several thousand taps and you need to sell a rather large portion at retail. Investments are large, sugar house, evaporator, storage tanks (stainless), filter press, vacuum pump(s), Reverse Osmosis, tubing, taps, fuel to boil, insurance, equipment to haul sap unless all sap can be run to the sugar house. These things just scratch the surface, other expenses will add to those.
I'm not saying it can't be done, but it is far from a quick income plan, the first 10-15 years it may not even break even.
That being said, on this forum there are members who make a full time income on as few as 5000 taps, but 10,000 is often considered a minimum for making a syrup operation your sole income.
Most of use make syrup because we are addicted to doing maple, it's a sickness with no known cure but rarely fatal.

[hookhill]

We started sugaring 15 years ago. It was pure enthusiasm that got us started. No regrets. Lots of time, investment and 5000 gallons of syrup later we have made enough money to own some old equipment. Do it if you want to try it but don't go into it for the money. If you own a 240 acre farm 300-400 taps aint gonna make a bit of difference in the budget for real estate that size. If you could get up to 3-4000 then it might be worth it if the bulk price goes up. What else do you do on ground that big...hay, cows, crops?