This is the season of maple syrup
- Herb Broda: Nature Notebook
- February 22, 2019
- 2117
Dr. Gary Graham has a sweet job. Recently I interviewed this maple syrup specialist at the Holmes County OSU Extension office in Millersburg. His insights from several decades of involvement in the local maple syrup industry are reflected in today’s column.
Some maple history
The first agricultural census in 1840 shows Ohio as the leading producer of maple syrup in the country. Locally many Ohio counties produced more than 100,000 gallons of maple syrup. Geauga County produced over a half million gallons of syrup in 1840 with Wayne County reporting over 250,000 gallons.
If you look at the last 50 years, the picture is very different. Recently Ohio has ranked fourth or fifth in production nationally. Other than Geauga, no Ohio county shows production greater than 20,000 gallons. The production drop graphically shows how economics, urbanization and life-style choices can alter a booming industry.
Bumper syrup production years occurred when Ohio was just a new state but still very much a wilderness. According to the ODNR Division of Forestry, 200 years ago Ohio was 95 percent forested. But by the early 1900s, forest cover had dropped to 10 percent. Today our forest cover is at about 30 percent, still far less than the early 1800s.
Early settlers realized our excellent soil would grow great syrup-producing trees. But the excellent soil that grows amazing sugar maples also can produce profitable farm crops, if you cut down the trees.
Farmland development was not the only reason for declining numbers of sugar maples. As we expanded our cities in the 1900s, large tracts of wooded land were removed. The maple syrup production data reflects the societal and land-use changes that were unfolding.
Getting accurate data also is a definite challenge. There are significant amounts of syrup production that are simply not being counted. Ohio does not require registration of maple sugar producers, which makes it difficult to accurately calculate production numbers.
Making the sap flow
The ideal weather for sap production is a string of days that have sub-freezing nights, followed by above-freezing days. According to OSU’s Graham, these fluctuations result in different barometric pressures inside and outside of the tree. That pressure differential aided by the gas bubbles in the sap creates a daily rhythm of up and down flow, making tapping possible.
The occasional cold snap is not a problem, though. A string of cold days with no temperatures above freezing actually can refresh the system. The maple sugaring season ranges from 30-40 days, depending upon weather. Once buds on the maple tree begin to swell and slightly open, a chemical change is taking place that ends the production of sap suitable for maple syrup.
Our local story
In our area, maple sugaring is doing very well. We have an abundance of small “hobby” operations with less than 250 tree taps being used. One tap can yield enough sap to produce a quart or more of maple syrup. So 250 taps could produce 60 gallons of the good stuff. That’s quite a hobby.
In Ohio 42 percent of our syrup is sold in retail outlets, 16 percent is sold wholesale and 42 percent is sold to bulk producers. Bulk producers purchase barrels of syrup from small operations and then repackage the product, often under their own label.
Bulk buyers are very choosey about the quality of syrup that they buy because the name on the label is theirs, not the original processor. Bulk producers usually sell to chain grocery stores that require large quantities of a uniform product.
In Holmes and Wayne counties, most of our maple syrup is sold in local retail and bulk food stores or in stands at the end of farm lanes. Large amounts are kept for home consumption, and some is sold in bulk. In our three-county area, the most syrup and the most producers are from the Amish community.
In Ohio the demand for maple syrup exceeds the supply. The current focus on locally grown foods has made homegrown maple syrup especially appealing. We are fortunate to live in an area that has good soil and tree-growing conditions, which produces high-quality syrup.
This year’s syrup is already in some local bulk food stores. Treat yourself to some of our own liquid gold.
Email Herb Broda at 4nature.notebook@gmail.com.