With Covid, my sales are ahead of all previous years. I sold more on my website and lots more at my one retail outlet. By Aug 1, I had surpassed LY sales, in fact I had passed all previous years. With Covid, more people are eating at home and maple syrup is on their menu.
I by no means want Covid to stay, but I just don't see it going anyplace until summer/fall 2021. Hopefully the vaccines announced recently turn this arond sooner. However, lots of jobs will remain at home and many will not have jobs because of the businesses that failed because they couldn't survive the shut downs.
I fear we may be headed toward the biggest depression ever, worse than the 1930's. Our government printed way too much new money to help those on unemployment, it may take 10 or more years to recover from that.
Correction, there was one exception, back in 2008 I had a better year. That year I had 3 newspaper articles about my operation. The first was just quotes from several maple producers locally, I was just one of them. Then 2 days later there was a 3 page spread, just about my operation, lots of pictures and a long interview. Then 9 days later (and it turned out to be the Sunday before the first weekend of our Maple Weekend) I was featured in the local magazine section, front page and 3 more pages inside. The crowd we had all 4 days of Maple Weekend (2 weekends in a row) was huge. We can only get about 15-20 people safely into my sugarhouse. From 9:30 in the morning until 5-5:30 in the evening we had a full sugarhouse and lines of 30-60 outside waiting outside for their turn on all 4 days all day long. To say the least, we sold out of product by the 2nd Sunday and took names to contact them when we had made more syrup. Only about 1/3 returned to pick up syrup when called.
The power of free advertising!
That was the only time we sold more than this year be August. By the end of 2008, our year total was not as much as this year looks like it will be if this season is half as good as last year for Christmas sales.
Last edited by maple flats; 11-22-2020 at 09:09 AM.
Reason: remembered 2008 experience
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.
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Originally Posted by maple flats
