Welcome to Vermont’s Maple Conference Week Tuesday, December 5 - Saturday, December 9

University of Vermont Extension and Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association are pleased to host the 2023 Vermont Maple Conference! Based on participant feedback, we continue to design our conference sessions for anyone who wants to learn about maple production - whether you are an existing sugar maker, looking to become one, a forester who works with maple producers or a forest landowner looking to lease to a producer.

Last year, we solidified our ongoing plan to offer three online conference days (Wednesday – Friday) and one in-person day (Saturday) at the centrally-located Vermont Technical College (now known as Vermont State University) in Randolph. We’re using the same playbook this year and you will recognize some familiar offerings, like hydrometer testing courtesy of Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, as well as some new sessions on road infrastructure, climate resiliency, a county forester panel and much more. Over the initial three days of the conference, we’re offering interactive online sessions – 3 on Wednesday, 3 on Thursday and 2 on Friday. We plan to offer our usual in-person welcome messages and the popular Industry Panel in-person on Saturday at VTC, along with a larger tradeshow. The online and in-person sessions will be recorded, so that after the conference you can watch them on your own time. Sessions will be focused on our usual tracks: Maple Business Management, Regulations and Maple, Sugarbush Health, Marketing and Media, and Maple Production and Innovation. There are two fee levels for the conference this year – one that includes the entire conference (the online sessions, the in-person Saturday sessions and Saturday lunch), and one for just the online portions. We created these fees to be affordable for attendees, but also help us cover the cost of offering Maple Conference Week this year. We’re also thankful for the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Market’s sponsorship of this year’s conference to help offset costs. We’re looking forward to engaging online and in-person discussions with you in December. After the conference, we’ll also look forward to your feedback about what you’d like to see more of and what could use improvement.

Registration is available online through the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association website: https://vermontmaple.org/maple-conferences If you need assistance along the way, please reach out to VMSMA staff.

“See you” at the conference, online and in-person!

Allison Hope
Executive Director
Vermont Maple Sugar Makers’ Association

Mark Isselhardt
Maple Specialist
University of Vermont Extension