Tapping 2024

[220 maple]

My understanding the camp with the highest elevation trees at 4200 are still in production, sadly I wanted to lease the trees right in front of the big camp, trees are 4200 feet on the potential lease, 25000 to 32000, had no desire to make syrup from that bush just wanted to sell sap, oh well Covid stopped the first plan, now cancer has me pretty darn good, so my dream goes up in smoke or whatever you want to call it! The potential in a six mile area is unbelievable, I would estimate a million taps, My buddy Dr. Rechlin agrees with my assessment, last year they produced until March 31st, because of that elevation they are equal to Quebec weather, one of there mistakes as I see it they won’t tap early enough usually wait to February. Oh how I wanted to sell them sap! If I could have got the landowner on board I personally believe the neighbors would fall in tow, going to give her 1 dollar a tap, she couldn’t believe I was willing to do that! Off of 25000 taps I should have got a lot of sap that I didn’t have to truck, just pipeline across a field! But one million taps in a six mile area, playing in JR Sloans league!
Mark220maple

[darkmachine]

That sounds amazing...on our farm the trees are pretty spread out, and the amount of tubing I run is high compared to my tap count. But i love it, so i do it. I know Buck Barb in Mathias, WV has a perfect setup, also un-tapped at this point. There are some nearby properties i'm going to investigate. I hope your treatments are successful and you improve for next season Mark.

I finally canned my last syrup yesterday and according to my records i'm at .39 gal/tap....I had projected .35 based on the MES sap calculator. I'm pretty sure that the precision of my readings on the sap tanks was responsible for the discrepancy between projected and actual. The totes I use aren't the same brand and 200 gallons in one, doesn't match 200 gallons in the other so i only took readings on my collection tank, still not exact enough apparently. I think i'll install a flow meter between my collection tank and my bulk storage tank, i should have enough flow while i unload to make sure it's accurate. anyone else use a flow meter? Glad to hear good syrup is being made, gonna tap frozen trees in January next season!!

[220 maple]

Darkmachine,
I’m getting low on filter aid and will be running up to Somerset county, to get a bag, I could pick you up a bag, save you some shipping cost, let me know I left my phone number in your private messages in box. Thanks for the kind words on my treatment, I’ve responded with the second chemo try. The first try failed miserably, I’ve sorta made mention about my cancer, lucky me I have the same cancer three famous guys had, Patrick Swazy, Steve Job, and most recently Alex Traveck, needless to say very wealthy, their wealth couldn’t cure their cancer. So my pennies won’t go very far towards my success of curing me, however I will say there is a lot of new medicine being tried on guys like me, so there is hope. I will go to a clinical trial once the chemotherapy I’m on now quits working, right now I have a shot of making syrup in 2025! Can’t wait and we just finished 2024. That is the maple sickness most of us guys and girls have that make syrup! Like I’ve said God may have needed a farmer on day 8, he needed a Sugar maker on day 9 to take care of his Maple trees!
Mark220maple

[darkmachine]

I appreciate the offer! In two weeks i'll be up in NY, to visit my wife's family, and of course to see the eclipse. They live right on the path of totality. Anyway, i've done some searching and I am pretty sure that we can find a dealer near, or on the way...who knows i might be able to find something else that i "need" at an actual maple supplier, lol

[plattmaple]

Darkmachine,
What area in NY are you going? In Western NY there is Wendel's in Springville or Sprague's in Postville who are dealers. Both places would definitely be worth seeing. Sprague's have a nice restaurant also.

[darkmachine]

Just south of Carthage, near Deer River. I'll be there for a week, so i plan on surveying the facebook marketplace and what's for sale since there isn't much of that down here.

[220 maple]

Visited the boys at Spruce Knob Maple, sap still running in, just finished cooking the previous couple days sap, got a potential freeze coming this weekend, plus two harder freezes next week so their goal as usual is to make it to April, tapped in February, in my opinions they need to tap earlier, oh well not my problem!
Mark220maple

[canaanmaple]

Sap is still running for me too with the temps! I'm too small to have a market for commercial grade syrup to make it worth my while tho!

[220 maple]

FYI,
State wide maple association meeting Saturday April 20th, hopefully we will see some of are old buddies there that help start The West Virginia Maple Syrup Producers Association over 10 years ago, about 15 charter members, now we have around 75 members!
Mark220maple