Managing for a healthy sugarbush in a changing climate
Climate change trends, the impact on maple syrup production, and mitigation strategies.
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Managing for a Healthy Sugarbush in a Changing Climate
Severe and extreme weather has significant impacts on sugar maples. This article discusses how to look for signs of stress, and how to manage sugarbushes for resilience.
Managing for delicious ecosystem service under climate change: can United States sugar maple (Acer saccharum) syrup production be maintained in a warming climate?
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is a highly valued tree in United States (US) and Canada, and its sap when collected from taps and concentrated, makes a delicious syrup. Understanding how this resource may be impacted by climate change and other threats is essential to continue management for maple syrup into the future. Here, we evaluate the current distribution of maple syrup production across twenty-three states within the US and estimate the current potential sugar maple resource based on tree inventory data. We model and project the potential habitat responses of sugar maple using a species distribution model with climate change under two future General Circulation Models (GCM) and emission scenarios and three time periods (2040, 2070, 2100).
Managing Invasive Plants in the Sugarbush
The history of introduction of invasive plants into the US is varied, but there are many examples of species that have become interfering after introduction in the middle 1800’s. In most cases the introduction was intentional because of the expectation of a benefit for humans or wildlife. Following are several invasive shrub species common in many areas of the maple syrup producing region of North America.
Maple Beer Capstone Project
There are many ways a partnership between maple producers and brewers could be beneficial. The goal of this project was to focus on maple-flavored beer. Within this scope, there are many options including maple extract, fenugreek, maple syrup and maple sugar. We focused on the use of fenugreek, maple syrup and maple sugar for aroma and flavoring in this experiment.
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.
Maple Business Planning Modules
These online maple business modules can be used make plans for an existing business or to strategize for the start-up of a new business. Tools include ‘Annual Production Yield Forecast,’ ‘Pricing and Sales Forecast,’ ‘Annual Budget and Cost Analysis,’ and more. UVM Extension is developing more maple business resources and tools every year.
Maple Business Resources
Useful materials for developing a business plan for your maple operation
Maple Candy and Other Confections
Maple syrup can also be processed into a wide variety of confections including granulated or molded maple sugar, molded soft-sugar candy, maple cream, maple fondant, and “Jack Wax” or “Maple on Snow.” These confections are easy to make, delicious to eat, and make excellent gifts.
Maple Career Development Event: A Guide for Career and Technical Centers of Vermont
On May 7th, 2019 the first ever FFA Maple Career Development Event (CDE) was held at Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont. A CDE is a competition that is designed to test skill development and prepare students for careers in the particular area of focus. CDEs are held for many different disciplines such as forestry, tractor driving, and dairy handling. The CDE’s are often used by high school career and technical centers as a way to assess students’ knowledge and compare results between schools that are teaching similar material. Additionally, CDE’s serve as a way for students to build their credentials, with students often including their CDE experience on their resumes.