Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

[Ultimatetreehugger]

1300 taps worth of sap on the ground do to a brand new releaser switch malfunctioning... my other trees ran a gallon per tap.

[PARKER MAPLE]

Same story here. We gathered in 5050 gallons yesterday off of 2700 taps. Sugar was testing 1.5-.6 which is pretty average for us now. I’m not sure what the rain will do for us tonight, and we will definitely loose something of our snow pack up in our mountain lots which is needed.

[spud]

I got 1.3 gpt yesterday with sugar dropping back to 1.9. Sap ran all night and I have 2000 in the tank. Should run all day but slower. The rain today could help melt some frost and really get the larger maples rolling.

Spud

[tcross]

the trees up here haven't really woken up totally. had a halfway decent run yesterday, however i came home to find my float rod stuck up, shutting off my vacuum to my lines. no clue how long that had been stuck. **** little washer/clamp on the bottom of the float rod broke off so it wasn't sliding down, but the float was sliding it up... no clue how that happened. lost the over night flow due to having to take the releaser in over night to fix. hopefully this rain will thaw out the tree bases a little and get things going a bit better!

[smokeyamber]

I am officially out of storage .. not a bad thing, but looking at a some long nights this week working through close to 400 gallons with a rig that does a bit over 12gallons per hour... guess that diy RO will be on the list for next season. Arch is freshly bricked with a test fire last night. Looking like a fast and furious season !

[PARKER MAPLE]

I’m getting close to be selling retail. What are the general prices everyone is charging for sizes? I don’t like being way off but a general idea would help me out . Thank you

[VTfarmboy]

8hrs into a 13hr boil you start to feel like a fireman on a steam engine going wide open, bricks cherry red, sugar house 95 degrees! hope everyones keeping up!

[GeneralStark]

Sap temp. was a bit concerning so I decided to boil again today before a freeze tonight. Made some nice classic dark amber syrup right at 50% on the Hanna meter. Have processed over 3k gal. of sap in the last two days. A good run since the thaw started on Sunday. Sap still running but has slowed way down. The next week looks pretty good for sap weather....

In terms of retail prices, I suggest looking around your area a bit and see what folks looking for syrup would have to pay. Craigslist prices are the lowest, then Farmstand/Sugarhouse prices, and then farmer's market. Prices I see in stores are all over the map. It really depends upon your market and how you are selling it. I see $30-$35 gallons on CL and $65+ gal. in tourist traps. Roadside is typically about $40/gal around here. My prices vary depending upon the market but 6,10,16,25,45 for 1/2 pint-> gal. could be a good place to start...

[Mead Maple]

Still boiling here in Middlesex. Had a broken up day with the wifes schedule and grabbing the kids from school. Add on top of that a minor mechanical malfunction (oil apparently is not the silver bullet of sugaring) and it was not as productive as I would have liked. Fortunately I still made about 5 gallons of syrup so overall I am pleased. Time to go to bed and get ready for work.


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[Shirefisher]

All locked up here. Maybe some sap to boil by Friday afternoon.