Farming Magazine – October, 2011
SUGARING
Sweet Sugaring for Granite State
New Hampshire tops 100,000 gallons for first time
By Marcia Passos Duffy
It was a sweet season for maple syrup producers in New Hampshire, with record-breaking totals for syrup production in the recorded history of sugaring in the state. An average New Hampshire sugaring season clocks in 80,000 gallons of syrup; but even in the best of years, syrup production has never reached above 100,000 since maple syrup record-keeping began in the 1940s.
The 2011 New Hampshire sugaring season brought a record-breaking 125,000 gallons of maple syrup to the Granite State.
Photo courtesy of the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association.
The 2011 sugaring season brought in a whopping 125,000 gallons for New Hampshire, which is the third largest producer of maple syrup in New England, according to statistics provided by the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association. (www.nhmapleproducers.com).Maine comes in second highest, and Vermont is at the top of the list.
“It was a fantastic year,” said Robyn Pearl, spokeswoman for the association. Pearl taps 8,000 trees with her husband on their farm, Pearl & Sons, in Loudon, N.H. The New Hampshire Maple Syrup Producers Association represents 406 maple syrup producers in the state; however, New Hampshire syrup producers may be double that number. Members of the association range from backyard operators with just a handful of taps to large producers, such as Bascom Maple Farms of Alstead, which puts out thousands of taps each season.
Not a textbook start to the season
Pearl noted that the 2011 record-breaking maple season wasn’t exemplary because of any textbook-style sugaring weather. Cold temperatures and ice kept sap from running at the expected time in northern and western areas of the state. In the northern half of the state – which in a average year starts two weeks later than the south’s typical six-week run from the last week of February through the first week of April – the season was delayed because of heavy snowfall that did not let up until early April; this kept many trees too cold and deeply covered to run on time.
In the southern to middle parts of the state, sap began to flow around February 22 and finished the season around April 10; the northern section ended its season around April 23. Despite the slow start, the sap flowed strong for continuous days.
“The weather was perfect for sugaring in a lot of areas of the state,” said Pearl.
New Hampshire Grade B was made early in the season; the syrup quickly moved into Medium Amber and Light Amber and remained in these grades for many of the larger producers, Pearl noted. Small producers reported high volumes of Medium and Dark Amber for the bulk of the season. The end of the season produced Dark Amber and then Grade B again for most producers, large and small. The quality of the maple syrup was high throughout the season, said Pearl.
Vacuum systems: are they helping?
The record year could be the result of more taps and the implementation of vacuum system technology by more producers to help Mother Nature along.
Tim Meeh, of North Family Farm in Canterbury attributed his farm’s successful season to his vacuum pipeline system: “Thanks to modern technology with vacuum pipeline systems in the woods, reverse osmosis and a high-efficiency evaporator in the sugarhouse we were able to take advantage of a season where the sap ran like the good old days,” he noted.
Regardless of bucket or vacuum use, the quality was still high for both, a departure from last season, when those who collected in buckets had a poor to average crop at best; Eric Johnson of Tucker Mountain Maple in Andover, who has both vacuum and buckets, said that the best running taps all season were actually, surprisingly, in his buckets.
Visitors to The Rocks Estate take a horse-drawn wagon to learn tree identification.
Photo courtesy of The Rocks Estate.
Bruce Bascom of Bascom Maple Farm in Alstead, the state’s largest producer which also operates a wholesale packing operation, said in a statement to the association: “Many producers made from one-third to .5 gallon (of syrup) per tap, which is an excellent season.”
New Hampshire wasn’t the only state that enjoyed an excellent sugaring season; according to the USDA, maple syrup production was up 43 percent nationwide with a total of 2.79 million gallons. Vermont led all the states with 1.4 million gallons produced, an increase of 28 percent over last year.
Maple Weekend brings in more visitors
There were more than 80 sugarhouses open during New Hampshire’s Maple Weekend on March 19 and 20, up from the usual 60 in previous years.
“More producers wanted to participate, and we had great weather,” said Pearl. While she was not sure of the exact number of visitors, she estimated that the number could have been as high as 100,000 people visiting from around the country. “People plan their vacation around it,” she said.
While 2011 was a banner year for New Hampshire and all U.S. maple syrup producers, not everyone is banking on the same success for 2012. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed,” said Pearl, “but either the weather works with you, or it doesn’t.”
Inside of the NH Maple Museum.
Photo courtesy of The Rocks Estate.
Sugaring Artifacts Overflow at the New Hampshire Maple Museum
The late Charlie Stewart of Sugar Hill, N.H., a longtime maple producer, spent his life not only sugaring, but also collecting old maple sugaring artifacts, from old wooden sap buckets to cast iron evaporators. Several years ago, the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association was entrusted with this massive collection, with some items dating back 300 years. Stewart’s wish was for the association to find a home for these artifacts – for a permanent maple museum.
Two years ago, Stewart’s dream became a reality when The Rocks Estate – a Christmas tree farm and 1,400-acre property in Bethlehem, N.H., which is also a North Country Conservation and Education Center for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests – offered space for the museum in its circa 1906 Sawmill/Pigpen building on the property, which is now also used as a sugarhouse.
The 1,200-square-foot museum opened during the 2010 sugaring season, and remains open during the spring, summer and fall months. During the sugaring season, visitors to The Rocks Estate can sign up for “The New Hampshire Maple Experience” tour (http://nhmapleexperi ence.com), which includes a visit to the interactive maple museum, plus demonstrations at the working sugarhouse.
“Charlie Stewart collected these artifacts from auctions and estate sales throughout the state and in Vermont,” said William Eva, honorary director of the NH Maple Producers Association and president of NH Maple Museum, Inc. Right now, the museum is displaying artifacts that were used in collecting sap including buckets, spouts and collecting vessels pulled by oxen. The remainder of the artifacts fills up an entire barn on the property; the museum officials plan to rotate artifacts every two years.
Eva said the oldest artifact is a sap storage container made from a hollowed out tree trunk, which dates back about 300 years. The most copious artifacts are shoulder yokes used for pails: “There are about 200 of these in the collection,” he said. Eva noted that he thinks the most interesting artifact is an old salesman kit used to sell Leader Evaporators. “It is a miniature evaporator, and other miniature items … as far as we know, it is only one of two in existence,” said Eva.
Nigel Manley, director for The Rocks Estate, said that the museum has been visited by at least 2,000 people since it opened in 2010. Those interested in visiting the museum range from adult tour groups who want to learn more about rural life, to children and families looking for an educational and fun experience: “Bus tours now want to do something educational, rather than just take pictures and visit a gift shop … people want to learn and do something,” Manley said.
“During sugaring season, people will be here two or three hours, eating pancakes, taking a ride on a horse-drawn wagon, getting to tap their own tree … it is an unusual experience for many people,” said Manley.
When sugaring season is done, the “virtual sugarhouse” and museum offers an interactive experience that includes trying on a yolk, hanging buckets and learning how Native Americans placed hot rocks into the sap to create syrup.
“None of the maple sugaring museums I know of have a virtual sugarhouse where people can experience sugaring when it is not happening,” said Manley. “It makes it easier for people to learn about sugaring without freezing.”
Manley hopes that the museum and interactive sugarhouse will be self-sustaining. The Rocks Estate is working to promote the museum through bus tours; Manley said that it already has the potential for 25 groups this fall, with one group coming from China.
“Charlie’s desire was to let people see the maple artifacts and not forget the history of maple sugaring,” says Eva. “I think the museum accomplishes that.”
The NH Maple Museum, Inc. accepts contributions. Tax-deductible donations for the support of the museum can be sent to NH Maple Museum, Inc., c/o Ag Business Center, 295 Sheep Davis Road, Concord, NH 03301. Make checks payable to “NH Maple Museum, Inc.”
The author is a freelance writer from Keene, N.H.