Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

[DrTimPerkins]

I would like to learn something. Everyone talks how many lbs per tap they make and wondered how that is figured. I took my total gallons and multiply by 128 and then divide by number of taps, coming up with 50 oz per tap. Is there a easier way to figure.

To calculate your syrup yield in lbs per tap, start with your total number of gallons of syrup. Multiply by 11 (there are 11 lbs in 1 gallon of syrup). Divide that by your number of taps.

Example below:

50 gal syrup produced x 11 lbs/gal = 550 lbs of syrup.

550 lbs of syrup / 150 taps = 3.67 lbs of syrup/tap

Alternatively, you can take the number of gallons of syrup per tap and multiply by 11. So in the example above:

50 gal syrup / 150 taps = 0.33 gal syrup/tap x 11 lbs/gal = 3.67 lbs/tap

[upsmapleman]

Got it. Thanks!

[DrTimPerkins]

Sap flow really shut down yesterday. We pulled the plug today on collection. The crew concentrated the remaining sap today. They'll boil and boil out tomorrow and will have final numbers then. Not a record year by any means, but not terrible either. We'll exceed (by a small margin) our minimum goal of 0.5 gal/tap.

Mostly just getting final tallies from research projects and crunching numbers now. Some interesting things so far.....but need to verify things before providing any details.

[Andy VT]

Like Proctor, for somewhat opposite and somewhat similar reasons, my little neighborhood operation also has a delay. I stopped collecting and bulk boiling on April 5, but I'm far from being done with having sap concentrate and finished syrup in various stages in refrigerated and frozen storage. A few minutes ago I crossed the 7 gallon mark for hot-packed syrup in its final containers. Could have collected through Monday or Tuesday if life had allowed, but the season had served its purpose for me (goal was to make at least a quart per tap on buckets which I'll greatly exceed, and learn whatever I need to learn to make next year more fun and sustainable!). Big season for us over here!

I decided to make yesterday's rather large sap haul my last for the year over here in Essex Junction, really only because at this point we have to move on to other activities. This coming weekend will have significant flows I think, but we're going to let them spill. I have 5 gallons hot packed in canning jars, but considerably more than 5 gallons-equivalent at various stages of finishing. I'm guessing I'm going to end up with 12 gallons syrup total from my 30 bucket taps even though I'm stopping early. These neighborhood trees with their full crowns and 2-foot diameter really produce! Almost half are norway maples (which I tapped way too early) and didn't produce much, so the sugars must have averaged well over half a gallon per tap to make up for that.

[Andy VT]

P.S., my gut feel is that I gave up somewhere between 1 and 2 gallons of syrup by ending collection April 5 instead of April 11th or so. My early taps (Feb 13) were basically done but my later ones (March 5) were still going.

Here is an interesting thing about buckets and tapping too early. Most of my norway maple taps were among my Feb 13 taps. I didn't specifically keep track but my gut feel is that these amounted to maybe a cup to a pint per tap. A nearby neighbor did one norway tap on March 12 and made over a quart from it.

[DrTimPerkins]

The peepers finally called it late-Tuesday afternoon. We stopped collecting Wednesday morning -- sap was pretty well shut down by that time. The trees were done.

The crew started tapping on January 17 and finished February 10. Staining was hit 0.16% of the time, which is very low. First sap collection for RO processing was February 14 (dumped ~1,000 gal that came in prior to that). First boil was February 23 (due to concentrating and storing sap in a refrigerated bulk tank). Last (small boil and boil out) was today (April 13). The crew boiled 9 times during the season, averaging 365.2 gal of syrup made per boil (the small boil at the end dragged that down, typically during the season it is over 400 gal per boil). Today they finished boiling the concentrate that had come in Monday through Wednesday and boiled out the pans (first time in several years I wore shorts on a boiling day). Final tally is 3,287 gal from 6,428 taps, or 0.51 gal/tap (5.6 lbs per tap). Not the best year (our average is 0.58 gal/tap), but far from the worst. We managed to break 0.5 gal/tap, so all's good. Vacuum was a challenge this year for a couple of reasons.

Best of all -- NO TRUCKING OF SAP THIS YEAR. That was one of my goals before retiring.

Volume weighted sap sugar content was 1.90 Brix...about average. Niter was just a tad heavier than normal. Syrup grade tended light.

Can't imagine that too many producers (in the U.S. anyhow) will make it through the hot weather today and the next several days. If they do, it won't be table-grade syrup.

Now is the time to finish up with last set of measurements, input and crunch the numbers, and start putting together some presentations. Dr. Abby will be presenting at the Leader/H2O and the Lapierre Open Houses in Swanton, VT, in a few weeks (I'll be away). I'll be presenting at the Bascom Open House in early-May.

[berkshires]

Congrats on a good season Dr Tim. I know this is your last season with Proctor, but I hope you aren't washing your hands of maple entirely, and you'll keep an eye on this board as you sail off into the sunset.

Cheers!

Gabe

[DrTimPerkins]

Congrats on a good season Dr Tim. I know this is your last season with Proctor, but I hope you aren't washing your hands of maple entirely, and you'll keep an eye on this board as you sail off into the sunset.

Likely won't be participating in maple or on this list a great deal after June 30 (a little perhaps) and probably not from Vermont. My wife and I are planning to relocate to the Ann Arbor, MI, area later this summer or early-fall. Our daughter and her family are moving there in June. Son-in-law is a pediatric gastroenterologist and is starting a new position at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. He's the guy who goes "fishing" for stuff that kids accidentally swallow...or from the other end if something else is wrong. We want to be closer to the grandchildren (two boys 2 1/2 yrs and 9 months).

[spud]

Best of wishes on your upcoming retirement Dr. Tim. You have been a very big help to me over the last 12 years on Trader. I’m sure the grandkids will be excited to have you close by. As you already know, I have bought two more sugar woods and plan to set them up this summer. I still plan to spend most of my winters in Hawaii, but I have a daughter and son in law who want to help with the sugaring. I just became a grandpa, and they might be building a house on one of my maple lots. If all goes as planned I will have about 12,000 taps. Stay in touch

Spud

[DrTimPerkins]

Thanks Spud. Good luck with your new operation and your new grandchild.