Showing 1 – 10 of 21 resources
Patrick Fry (Ag engineer with VT Agency of Ag. Food and Markets) covers issues related to maple operations and possible water quality issues. This presentation discusses easy (and cheap) solutions for mitigate most concerns the VT Agency of Agriculture (VAAFM) and Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) may have. The talk also covers VAAFM grant programs and how/when they may be applicable.
A plastic tubing system operated under vacuum is usually used to collect sap from maple trees during spring time to produce maple syrup. This system is commonly sanitized with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to remove microbial contamination colonizing the system during the sugar season. Questions have been raised whether IPA would contribute to the leaching of plastic residues in maple sap and syrup coming from sanitized systems.
The most important contribution to the production of high quality maple syrup and syrup products is cleanliness and attention to detail in all parts of the production process. This manual provides guidance for doing so.
In 2014 and 2015 the focus of the tubing and taphole sanitation research changed dramatically. Tests conducted in 2013 showed that if the spout and drop line were adequately sanitized sap yield comparable to a new spout and drop could be obtained. With the assistance of a grant from the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension program of the USDA and in cooperation with the Proctor Maple Research Center in Vermont, a variety of spout and drop cleaning and replacement options were tested to determine the extent of sap yield changes.
Summaries of research presentations at the 2014 annual NAMSC meeting.
There are a number of ways to clean tubing systems to avoid microbial contamination of tapholes and sap.
Since check valve adaptors and spouts reduce sap backflow, this research studied whether or not dropline replacement is as important to improving sap yield when using these taps.
Using new or clean taps and droplines has a significant impact on sap production.,
Many studies have demonstrated the benefits of replacing droplines on sap yields. The research outlined in this article outlines several replacement strategies to allow producers to determine the cost-effectiveness of each.
Calculates projected sap yield and net profits based upon known relationships between tubing aging and various management strategies under vacuum conditions.