Maple Confections: From Maple Tap Hole Lumber to Maple Wine Tastings

Next time you're savoring pancakes dripping in maple syrup, imagine tasting that rich maple-y flavor in a creamy piece of candy or a poof of cotton candy. How to make those products and more will be taught at Making Quality Maple Confections and Value Added Products Workshop 2 on June 9-10, 2009, in Canton, New York.

The workshop is intended for maple producers - people who own and/or lease forests of maple trees and collect sap to boil down to maple syrup once a year. Even though I'm not a maple producer, I plan to attend the confections workshop because I'm intrigued with the possibilities of the maple syrup business - what you can do with syrup after it's made.

At Workshop 2, they'll teach people to make maple suckers, hard candy, coated nuts, soft drinks, smoothies, jelly, sugar packets, marshmallow, cotton candy, straws, and coatings. Last year, at Workshop 1, a different line-up of product-making was taught. Now that's a whole lot of maple products!

Only recently have I become aware of the myriad of products made from maple syrup, which not only includes confections but also soaps, lotions, barbecue sauce, spreads, candles, and spices. I want to learn how to make some of these products myself, but I also want to find sources of these products ready-made for a new retail business venture.

I attended two events earlier this year that sparked this endeavor. I participated in the Northern New York Maple Expo in January 2009, and then toured seven local maple sugar houses during the 14th Annual Maple Weekend in March 2009. What I learned at these events convinced me that maple syrup product production could be profitable, not only for maple producers, but also for retailers - including people who don't make syrup!

Some of the enlightening things that I learned at the Expo in January are that Canada surpasses the U.S. in maple syrup production even though it has fewer trees; our government is working on making the U.S. number one; and my own New York State is the number one candidate to be the leader in U.S. maple production.

The sixth Northern New York Maple Expo was held at Potsdam High School in Potsdam, New York. Potsdam Future Farmers of America (FFA) with support from Cornell Cooperative Extension and the St. Lawrence County Maple Producers Association hosted the event. About 80 people attended. The expo featured displays from suppliers and various related organizations, but the core was 20 workshop breakout sessions. Attendees could only attend four sessions, as they ran simultaneously. I attended Growing the U.S. Maple Industry, The Ins and Outs of Marketing Maple, Why Your Business Cannot Afford to Not Have a Website, and New York Forest Owners Association. There was also a General Session on The Latest on Maple Grading.

Tap, Tap, Tap to #1

Mike Farrell from the Cornell Maple Program at Lake Placid, New York, was the instructor for Growing the U.S. Maple Industry and shared some dynamic information.

Currently the price of maple syrup is the highest it's ever been. The demand is far greater than the supply.

Just as a historical aside, it's interesting to note that during the 1800s people boiled sap to make sugar, not syrup, until sugar cane took over. In the 1900s, syrup became the primary sap product.

During the last 30 years, Canada spiked production and now leads the world. Canadians have used vacuum tubing, reverse osmosis, tapping of public trees, and other methods to increase production. Canada has fewer sugar maple trees than the U.S., but it produces more syrup because the country invested in the business, controls the market, and has a national identification with maples. Consider the Canadian flag - it is the maple leaf!

Soon, the U.S. could have the same spike. Our country has sugar maples and red maples growing in 19 states - Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.

Michigan and Pennsylvania rank the lowest in production, but are highest in resources.
Vermont ranks number seven as far as number of trees, but ranks number one in utilizing sap because it has developed a brand name and a market edge - 'Vermont maple syrup' resonates with syrup lovers.

New York State has the most maple trees of any state in the union. Michigan actually has more sugar maples, but New York counts red maples, which resist floods, drought, tent caterpillars, and are shade-tolerant. The reverse osmosis process makes it possible to use sap from red maples.

There are 366 million potential taps in New York. Three-quarters of those taps are on private land. There are 25 million potential taps on state land (not parks). There are also 73 million potential taps in the Adirondacks and Catskills mountains that can never be tapped because they are on public land. In St. Lawrence County, where I live, there are one million potential taps. Production here is only .4% of what it could be. There is big potential to expand.

Canada's policies that have given maple producers an advantage include cost-sharing for implementing vacuum and tubing. The government also allows producers to tap on public lands (they pay 20¢ per tap per year to the government). There is a federation of maple producers involved in collective marketing of the product and the government mandates membership; members must pay 10¢ per pound to the government. The Canadian government also supplies financial and technical aid to its maple producers.

U.S. policies are now being evaluated that would help increase maple production in this country, including policies for tapping public land, tax advantages for agriculture, availability of state and federal resources devoted to the industry, and documenting a tariff on Canadian syrup imported to the U.S.

To make New York State the number one producer of maple syrup in the U.S., the state recently launched the New York Maple Task Force. Some of the incentives include matching monies at the rate of 2¢ per container, providing more maple tapping access, and state funding and cost-sharing. (Mike Farrell noted that this program should be part of President Obama's economic stimulus package!)

To increase maple production, the U.S. needs to tap more trees. To do so, producers need to adopt tubing and vacuum systems, follow proper guidelines for forest management, and pursue policies for tapping public land.

Programs to increase greater collaboration between producers and private landowners are key and producers need to market its advantages to landowners. The arrangement requires a five-year commitment, a written lease, and other eligibility factors, but ultimately is a win-win situation - on a good sugar bush, a producer can place 60 taps per acre and the tapping gives property owners an agricultural assessment that can save them money on their taxes.

Another added value to landowners that allow their forests to be tapped is the niche market that has developed for 'Tap Hole Maple Lumber'. When trees that have been tapped over time are finally harvested for lumber, boards with more tap holes are considered more valuable and get a better price, fetching from $3 to $6 a board foot. Tap hole maple furniture can be seen at www.naturalformfurniture.com and at the Maple Center at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.

Marketing Maple - It's Sexy!

With all the modern techniques available today, maple syrup mass production has actually become relatively easy, but for some producers it still remains hard to get their product to the consumer, according to Michele E. Ledoux, Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Lewis County, who presented the session The Ins and Outs of Marketing Maple.

Producers must understand the customers they are trying to sell to - for example, outside of the North Country of New York, people prefer dark-colored syrup (Grade B) rather than the 'Fancy' light color. Syrup buyers also prefer the look of old-fashioned painted cans as syrup containers, but the majority of producers have opted out of those in favor of plastic jugs. That is a dilemma in the marketing process that needs to be overcome.

Maple is 'sexy' to promote - that is, TV and newspapers reporters and public relations people love the topic. Their viewers and readers love to learn about the sugaring season, traditions, and maple history. The sap running season gets a lot of attention.

However, it's imperative that producers who sell syrup from their sugarhouses educate people that maple syrup is available year-round. Christmas is currently the biggest season for maple syrup selling. Since the advent of the maple body care products, Valentine's Day has also joined the ranks as a seasonal spike in sales. Both seasons warrant additional marketing attention from producers.

Developing logos, creating product that is always correctly made and fresh, and adding confections and other maple products to the saleable lineup are all part of the marketing mix producers need to address.

Marketing also includes appearance not only of the product but of the actual producer - this is a small business operation after all, with people swarming sugarhouses during the boiling season; plus, some customers expect delivery of product. Producers can look like a woodsman or farmer, but must they also must project a wholesome image.

Maple producers also need to be in the public eye year round. Producers can issue press releases to keep their names in the news so that newspaper and magazine reporters contact them for quotes from the 'expert'. The annual Maple Weekend generates interest and media coverage from both general and agriculture aspects, so producers should participate in the event - free publicity and networking opens opportunities.

"Vanilla Notes with a Hint of Carmel" - Maple Flavors Like Wine-Tasting

In the general session, The Latest on Maple Grading, Brian Chabot, Director of the Cornell Maple Program, noted that grading maple syrup was such an important skill that producers should attend workshops on how to do it. He suggested that grading contests with prizes should be run to encourage the skill. A new twist in 'grading' is the concept of syrup tastings - like weekly wine tastings that have become so popular with vintners and restaurants - could be introduced.

Grading in the U.S. by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is based on a visual color system. Quebec on the other hand, does not use visual grading but rather has one official grader - the Hanna Analyzer. Grading involves color as well as the elements of density, clarity, and flavor. Of note is that color and flavor are not related - you can't tell the color by taste and vice versa.

The current trend is to describe maple syrup flavor in empyreumatic maple flavors in the same way that wine tasters have developed their own terms such as 'fruity' and 'smoky'; maple syrup empyreumatic flavors include 'brown sugar', 'vanilla', 'cooked sugar' and 'caramel'. The Quebec flavor wheel has 72 flavor distinctions!

There is actually a new grading proposal under consideration in Albany - New York's capital. Under that proposal, 'Light' would be termed 'Fancy' and the words 'Extra Dark' would be added to 'Grade A'. These terms match what Vermont uses. 'Grade B' syrup would be labeled as such without any additional words.

Unlike wine, however, an unopened maple syrup container only has a shelf life of one to two years. It can last longer if it's frozen or refrigerated. If it's stored at room temperature, the color will get darker and darker, like honey. Syrup will last longer if stored in glass rather than plastic because plastic lets in oxygen.

Maple and 'Mini Me' - Your Website

Ruby Sprowls of the Northern Adirondack Training Cooperative with web designer Harvey Ramer of www.designdelineations.com presented Why Your Business Cannot Afford to Not Have a Website.

Two important points - maple producers who understand their customers won't feel the economic crunch; and never run out of product - not in your shop or on your website! If producers sell out, they should go out and buy syrup in order to always have it on hand. When customers run out, they will go somewhere else to buy it and may not return.

A website is an extension of the producer. It needs to have personal content, such as biographies. It should also answer the question, "What do I want the customer to do?" If the answer is "Buy now!" then text on the site should relate to that and be an urgent call to action. Content is the most important element of a website.

A web page needs to communicate its message in three seconds. A home page must get the point across immediately. Buttons on the site should have a hierarchy and should be clear. The top three facets to keep in mind when constructing a site are: What is your product, who wants it, and why will they buy it from you?

A marketing strategy defines an approach to winning customers within your market. Maple producers as small businesses can't compete price-wise to gain market share (i.e., they cannot keep lowering prices in hopes of attracting more business), so they need to be different and make those differences stand out.

Whatever a small business uses to promote itself that doesn't cost money will instead cost time. For example, on a website the producer can develop reciprocal linking - it costs nothing but time to set it up.

It's important to measure leads from a website - how many people visit the site, how many buy, how many ask to be put on a mailing list, and whatever else you can measure and track from visits to your site.

When creating a site from scratch, decide first who your customers are and develop your architecture from there.

NYFOA, DEC, FLEP, AND TSI =$ (M-O-N-E-Y)

Richard Gast delivered the New York Forest Owners Association (NYFOA) presentation. He noted that if you have land, you should get in touch with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) because they will help you with the cost of maintaining it.

Some New York forest factoids: 62% of New York State is woodlands and forests growing hard maples in seven years. Only 1% is tapped for sap. The old growth forests are mostly in the Adirondack Park. 85% of the forestland is privately owned; 7% is publicly owned; and 8% is industry owned.

NYFOA representatives will visit your woodlands and make recommendations for maintenance. For financial assistance, there are two primary agencies to contact - Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP) and Timber Stand Improvement (TSI). You could be eligible for the FLEP money program and or TSI funding.

Making Maple Confections

So, the next stop on the maple agenda route to retail for me is Making Quality Maple Confections and Value Added Products Workshop 2 on June 9-10, 2009, at the Canton Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall in Canton, New York.

All attendees need to bring a quart of syrup. After my Maple Weekend tours, I know where seven local producers are located near my home, so I can pick up syrup any time - most of the sugarhouses are on the honor system! Sweet! And truly a marker of the kind of people involved in maple production - now that's a retailer's dream for suppliers. My store motto: "Move more maple" - the U.S. could and should be number one in maple production.