Showing 151 – 160 of all 713 resources in the database
Avoiding tapping near previous tapholes is a common practice in maple production. This is because previous wounds create a zone of stained wood that extends slightly wider and deeper than the taphole, but extends upwards and downwards, often reaching 6-12 inches in length in each direction, affecting a volume of wood approximately 50 times (range of 15-150X) larger than the volume of the taphole (vanden Berg et al. 2023).
Reports sap production costs for small (500 to 1,000 taps), medium (1,000 to 5,000), and large (5,000 to 15,000) maple syrup operations that use plastic tubing with vacuum pumping. The average annual operating cost per tap ranged from $4.64 for a 500-tap sugarbush operation to $1.84 for a sugarbush with 10,000 taps. The weighted average was $2.87 per tap or $11.48 per gallon (assumes four taps required to produce a gallon of syrup). The average annual investment cost for a plastic tubing system ranged from $7.90 for a 500-tap operation to $6.03 for a 10,000-tap system. The average labor time per tap was 4.74 minutes in 1998 compared to 9.60 minutes in 1975. The break-even (zero profit) size for a sugarbush operation was 900, 1,500, and 3,800 taps for a 3.0, 2.5, and 2.0o Brix sap, respectively.
A spreadsheet to calculate costs and returns of using vacuum sap collection systems.
Recent findings, published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, suggest that combining maple syrup extract with common antibiotics could increase the microbes’ susceptibility, leading to lower antibiotic usage.
Analysis of the 2012 U.S. Census of Agriculture’s report on the maple industry.
Have you ever wondered why open grown trees produce more and sweeter sap than the ones growing close to each other? To answer these questions, I would like to share with you from my 37 years of experience in forest management.
A sugar maple plantation designed to examine specific cultural practices for efficient planting and enhancement of seedling survival and growth was established in 1997 at Cornell University’s Uihlein Sugar Maple Research/Extension Field Station near Lake Placid, New York. For 6 growing seasons after planting, the performance of specific treatments including tree shelter designs, weed control mats, and combinations of treatments for seedling survival and growth were measured. Treatments that were installed in combination with weed control mats provided increased seedling survival and enhanced growth increment during the study period.
Although several previous studies have examined syrup darkening in different retail containers, packers and producers sometimes question the effectiveness of an oxygen-barrier in reducing the rate of color change. Two studies were performed by the University of Vermont (UVM) Proctor Maple Research Center (PMRC) in 2018 and 2019 to compare the rate of color (LT) change in maple syrup in uncoated and XL-coated retail plastic containers.
A presentation on appropriate tapping guidelines for modern, high-yield sap collection practices.