Author: Isselhardt, Mark

Showing 11 – 20 of 69 resources

Reduced Sap Yields When Tapping Into Non- Conductive Wood

According to a recent survey of more than 300 maple producers in the northeast United States, nonconductive wood was hit during tapping on average 4.5% of the time and the responses ranged from 0-41% of the time (UVM Extension 2019 unpublished). Previous research has explored factors that impact the likelihood of tapping into NCW. Significant factors include but are not limited to; dropline length, taphole diameter, tapping intensity (number of taps/tree) and stem growth (van den Berg and Perkins 2014). Other work touched on the relationship between the amount of conductive wood exposed while tapping and yields (Wilmot et al. 2007). But to date, there has been no direct investigation as to the relationship between the percent of NCW is intercepted while tapping and sap yield. The present study sought to understand the relationship between the amount of NCW in a given tap how and the amount of sap collected, as well as understanding if other factors (sap sweetness) might impact total yields between treatments.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
March 2, 2022

Total Yields From Red Maples

Many producers include red maples as crop trees without a second thought. And still many others will walk past red maples with a roll of tubing. Why the difference? Much of it arises from some lingering perceptions about red maples – that they produce lower yields or stop running earlier than sugar maples, or produce syrup with inferior flavor or that exhibits buddy flavor earlier than sugar maple.

Publication:
CDL's Way
Date:
February 15, 2022

Quality control guide cards

These handy cards provide checklists for color, clarity, density, and flavor, with notes on why syrup may not measure up to standards.

Date:
January 2, 2022

Sugarbush Management and Chainsaw Safety

Maple production requires sugarmakers possess a diverse set of skills in order to tend the forest resource and maintain a productive sap collection system. Maintaining a healthy, diverse sugarbush that maximizes its growth potential requires periodic vegetation management activity. Also known as thinning, vegetation management is the process of reducing competition for light, water and nutrients of crop trees. Felling trees is the key activity in vegetation management and may be done by logging professionals in support of formal forest management plan objectives or by the sugarmaker or landowner on an as needed basis and including response to extreme weather events.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
June 1, 2021

The Northeast Maple Economy: Crop Distribution and Outlook

As the US domestic maple syrup crop continues to grow the influence of different scales and types of business can shape local communities and national trends. Survey results presented here demonstrate the dramatic difference in the scale of maple enterprises as represented by tap count and the resulting working forest acres these businesses utilize.

Publication:
Maple Syrup Digest
Date:
March 1, 2021

Forestry & Sugarbush Management 

Mark Isselhardt, UVM Extension’s Maple Specialist, shares results from a recent survey of professional foresters that includes approaches and challenges to successful sugarbush management.

Date:
December 7, 2020

Maple Tele-Medicine: What is Making my Syrup Taste Sick? 

Most people recognize good tasting syrup and many can pick out when syrup tastes off, but occasionally there is a flavor that is not easily identified. Mark Isselhardt, UVM Extension, and Henry Mackres, retired Vermont Chief of Consumer Protection, discuss syrup flavors (and off-flavors) and sample syrup sent in advance of the session for diagnoses.

Date:
December 7, 2020