Avoiding equipment trouble
Common problems with sugaring equipment and how to avoid them.
Resource type: Practical Skills
Showing 271 – 280 of 310 resources
Maple Syrup Production
A basic guide to sugarmaking.
Guidelines for the Improvement of Combustion Efficiency for Maple Producers
How to increase efficiency of evaporators of various fuel types.
Salvaging your Sap: Checking Vacuum Lines for Leaks
A vacuum pump attached to a well-designed tubing system will significantly boost sap flow compared to gravity sap collection, by increasing the difference in pressure between the tree, the source of the sap, and the tubing, where we want the sap to flow. A vacuum pump, however, will not deliver much, if any, vacuum to the trees if the tubing system is not tight and leak-free. This article gives basic instructions on how to check for those leaks, and how to fix them.
Maple best management practices
A handbook of best management practices for maple producers to help commercial producers identify possible enhancements to their sugaring operations that maintain high standards of cleanliness in all phases of the process, reduce to the lowest extent possible the potential for contamination of the finished product, and achieve the highest possible quality pure maple syrup.
Achieving the Right Syrup Density
Achieving a consistent and acceptable density level for maple syrup continues to be a challenge for many producers.
Sugarmakers as teachers
One way that maple producers can gain useful information is by attending the education programs put on by Extension in conjuction with county and state maple organizations, where speakers include not just university and government specialists, but also sugarmakers who share their knowledge and experience.
Storing Your Bumper Crop
Once the season is over you need to use a little TLC when it comes to storing maple syrup so it will maintain its quality and value. If you have a lot of syrup setting in drums here are a few suggestions.
The Woody Plant Seed Manual
Planting for commercial forest production is the traditional mainstay of tree planting, but planting for wildlife food, watershed protection, urban environmental improvement, ornamental enhancement, wetland mitigation, and carbon sequestration are all on the increase. Ecosystem management, now commonly used in the management of many federal and other governmental forest lands, has decreased the use of planting to regenerate the forests and has increased the role of natural regeneration. Those who apply these practices will find this book useful also in the data on flowering and seed production.
Maple sugaring budgeting worksheets
An Excel spreadsheet that can be used to determine profitability and project the impact of altering management practices.