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Thread: 2021 USDA Crop Report

  1. #1
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    Default 2021 USDA Crop Report

    https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publicatio...s/crop0621.pdf

    Maple section starts on page 11.

    Could have been worse I suppose.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  2. #2
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    I have heard the USDA report significantly underestimates actual production amounts. Does anybody know by how much?
    Boulder Trail Sugaring
    150 Taps on Vacuum
    Homemade 20"x40" Hybrid Pan - 15 gph
    Homemade Steamaway - 10 gph
    Waterguys single-post RO

  3. #3
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    Bruce let the guy in charge know 1.5 years ago at the international meeting, that he buys more syrup from new york than what the usda said was made. The same with ohio. It threw his whole theory in a tail spin. Personally i dont think they care. There are few sampled for data and states eliminated, i understand more are coming as funding is pulled away. I know in ohio the data was 25% of tap count and 15% of production. Ohio has too many private outlets with 11,000,000 people, it will never be acurate
    Fred Ahrens
    330-206-1606
    Richards Ohio Maple Equipment
    Ohio CDL sales rep
    LaPierre Dealer
    H&M maple fabricator Dealer
    Service Tech/repair for all brands and electronics

    don't take life too serious, nobody gets out alive anyways!

  4. #4
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    It would be nice if their analysis was transparent so users could get a sense of the quality of their results. That said, it's not reasonable to expect high accuracy because of the many challenges..

    I recently passed through Sandgate, VT where someone had a super sized operation. I talked to a local who said that there were 175,000 taps there making it the 2nd largest in VT by his count.. The kicker was that the sap was collected and concentrated there but boiled in NY (actually 100 miles away!). So my point is that 1) it would be nice to see that these large operations are counted properly and 2) that there is a footnote explaining why the number of taps in a state aren't contributing to output in a situation like Sandgate.

    Ken
    Ken & Sherry
    Williston, VT
    16x34 Sugarhouse
    1,500 taps on high vacuum, Electric Releaser & CDL Sap Lifter
    Wood-Fired Leader 30"x10' Vortex Arch & Max Raised Flue with Rev Syrup Pan & CDL1200 RO
    https://www.facebook.com/pumpkinhillmaple/

  5. #5
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    It is regularly suggested that the USDA NASS numbers are an undercount -- I've heard that since I've been involved. Three things:
    1. The data relies upon the voluntary sharing of data with the USDA. That data can't be shared as individual personal data with ANYONE or any other governmental agency. So if you tell NASS how much you make, the IRS isn't going to know about it (from NASS at least).
    2. If the results are an undercount, that means the industry isn't willing to share the data. Governmental support (in a wide variety of forms) for an industry is typically based upon how big it is. So if you don't report, there won't be much support. Some states were cut from the USDA NASS maple report a few years back. This was largely due to the fact that industry reporting in those states was so low the USDA didn't think it was worth counting.
    3. Despite the fact that many people think the numbers are underreported, they're the best we have.

    The Sandgate operation Ken mentioned is (was?) operated by Crown Maple.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  6. #6
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    Well, at least the data presents some estimate of how good the season was in a relative sense. My state NH was down about 18% from last year. Me and my 150 reds did slightly better than the average per-tap yield in the state, which I consider to be a win.
    Boulder Trail Sugaring
    150 Taps on Vacuum
    Homemade 20"x40" Hybrid Pan - 15 gph
    Homemade Steamaway - 10 gph
    Waterguys single-post RO

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins View Post

    The Sandgate operation Ken mentioned is (was?) operated by Crown Maple.
    That seems correct. There were crowns on their tanks.

    There are some news articles on them and they are on wikipedia which makes some interesting claims, such as:

    "Crown Maple is the only syrup producer that uses a reverse osmosis filtration system, which removes 80% of the water content from the sap and filters out impurities.[11] "

    Are they suggesting it's more than a standard RO?

    Ken
    Ken & Sherry
    Williston, VT
    16x34 Sugarhouse
    1,500 taps on high vacuum, Electric Releaser & CDL Sap Lifter
    Wood-Fired Leader 30"x10' Vortex Arch & Max Raised Flue with Rev Syrup Pan & CDL1200 RO
    https://www.facebook.com/pumpkinhillmaple/

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by TapTapTap View Post
    Are they suggesting it's more than a standard RO?Ken

    any modern standard ro will do that percentage. they may be using an ultrafiltration system first. likely just a marketing ploy.
    Fred Ahrens
    330-206-1606
    Richards Ohio Maple Equipment
    Ohio CDL sales rep
    LaPierre Dealer
    H&M maple fabricator Dealer
    Service Tech/repair for all brands and electronics

    don't take life too serious, nobody gets out alive anyways!

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by TapTapTap View Post
    That seems correct. There were crowns on their tanks.

    There are some news articles on them and they are on wikipedia which makes some interesting claims, such as:

    "Crown Maple is the only syrup producer that uses a reverse osmosis filtration system, which removes 80% of the water content from the sap and filters out impurities.[11] "

    Are they suggesting it's more than a standard RO?

    Ken
    Yes they are, it is owned by a hedge funder from NYC who received a lot of financial assistance from Chuck Schumer ( the politician that wants to help all the poor people ) to set up the operation on his 800 acres of land.
    If you think it's easy to make good money in maple syrup .... then your obviously good at stealing somebody's Maple Syrup.

    Favorite Tree: Sugar Maple
    Most Hated Animal: Sap Sucker
    Most Loved Animal: Devon Rex Cat
    Favorite Kingpin: Bruce Bascom
    40 Sugar Maple Taps ... 23 in CT and 17 in NY .... 29 on gravity tubing and 11 on 5G buckets ... 2019 Totals 508 gallons of sap, 7 boils, 11.4 gallons of syrup.
    1 Girlfriend that gives away all my syrup to her friends.

  10. #10
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    Ken

    It would also be nice to see that these extraordinarily large operations are funded appropriately and that they do not slander the product of hard working smaller operations like yours.

    Please take the time to read the first item in the cache on the following search link. Its an article by the NY Times ( another supporter of the hard working poor man ) back in 2013 about Crown Maple when it started up.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=ny+t...4dUDCA4&uact=5

    This is my favorite sentence in the article.

    It pours with a languor more like that of honey, and tastes softer and richer than the “pure maple syrup” sold in most supermarkets (even the stuff in the nice leaf-shaped bottles).

    The New York times ... saying F the working man once again.

    Rob
    Last edited by Sugar Bear; 07-02-2021 at 08:12 PM.
    If you think it's easy to make good money in maple syrup .... then your obviously good at stealing somebody's Maple Syrup.

    Favorite Tree: Sugar Maple
    Most Hated Animal: Sap Sucker
    Most Loved Animal: Devon Rex Cat
    Favorite Kingpin: Bruce Bascom
    40 Sugar Maple Taps ... 23 in CT and 17 in NY .... 29 on gravity tubing and 11 on 5G buckets ... 2019 Totals 508 gallons of sap, 7 boils, 11.4 gallons of syrup.
    1 Girlfriend that gives away all my syrup to her friends.

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