Maple Weekends Canceled in New York State

Maple Weekend events in New York state have been canceled due to concerns with the coronavirus.

Here is the announcement form the New York State Maple Producers:

"Out of an abundance of caution, the New York State Maple Producers Association has decided to cancel the 2020 NYS Maple Weekend. This 25th anniversary festival was scheduled for March 21-22 and March 28-29 at 187 different locations across New York state. 

"Individual sugarhouses will continue to produce, stock and market their excellent crop of Maple Products. Please contact them directly to order your favorite maple products.  

"NYS Maple Producers Association is already preparing for an alternative series of open houses later in the year to showcase both producer and product. Consult MapleWeekend.com for future events.   

"If you have questions, contact us at mapleweekend@nysmaple.com"

Maple Weekend is an annual event in March in which maple producers throughout the state open their sugarhouses to show the public how they make maple syrup and other maple products. For many, it is their biggest source of revenue for the year.

Remember, as the statement says, the producers still are making syrup and New York residents still can buy all the maple products they need.

Maple Weekends Still On in Most of NYS

New York state maple producers are not letting the presence of the coronavirus in New York state stomp on their biggest event of the year.

As of the afternoon of Thursday, March 12, Maple Weekend events scheduled for March 21-22 and March 28-29 still are set to go. Helen Thomas, executive director of the New York State Maple Producers Association, said she is conferring with her board of directors and changing news could change this decision.

Right now (March 12), "we are not canceling Maple Weekend and are leaving it up to producers" to decide what is right for them, Thomas said. 

She said a few producers in the Hudson Valley -- the epicenter of coronavirus in the state -- have canceled their events. She said some in Westchester County looked at the list of attendees from past years and saw many people from New York City visit Maple Weekends and decided it would be best to keep everyone safe by not holding the event.

New York City also has been an area hard hit by the coronavirus, also known as Covid-19.

Pancakes being cooked at a Maple Weekend pancake breakfast

"We have to be responsible about the producers, considering this (Maple Weekend) is one of the big revenue times of the year," Thomas said.

Thomas said the maple association is following a directive from Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued Thursday which requires events with more than 500 people be canceled and any event that is held be restricted to 500 or fewer attendees.

She said Maple Weekend events in New York state rarely have more than 500 people at one time -- a producer might have that many visitors, but it would be spread out over a full day or weekend.

"All of this is changing hourly," Thomas said. "We have to watch it daily."  

Maple Weekend 2019 Coming Up in March

Can't wait for maple season!!

New York State Fair Is Open For Business

The Great New York State Fair opened for its 2018 run at 7 a.m. Aug. 22.

For the next 13 days, people from throughout New York and elsewhere can see all that is great about New York State, from its technological innovations to the animals to agriculture to crafts and culinary specialties to entertainment to to the midway to law enforcement to, of course, FOOD.

And please, while having fun at the fair, don't forget the hard-working farmers who raise animals and crops to feed and clothe each and every one of us 365 days a year. 

Be sure to stop in an animal barn or the horticulture building or the Agriculture Museum (which is celebrating its 90th birthday) and talk to a farmer or an apple grower or a beekeeper or a maple producer or Christmas tree grower.

Have fun at the fair, but remember to celebrate agriculture.

Tentative Federal Change in Maple Labeling Worries Producers

Check out this story from the Watertown Daily Times.

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/tentative-fda-label-rule-worries-maple-producers-20180702 to see the story.

It's Time for the First Maple Weekend of 2018

There's nothing else to say. Get out and visit your local maple producer. I'll be out at Red Schoolhouse Maple in Palermo on March 17.

Maple Weekends Coming March 17-18, March 24-25

From state Sen. Patricia Ritchie:

Maple syrup is not just for pancakes anymore.  

There is maple candy, maple popcorn, maple jelly and even maple pepper.  If those — and of course maple syrup — sound like “sweet” treats you might want to try, I highly encourage you to find a nearby sugarhouse taking part in upcoming “Maple Weekend” events.

Held March 17 and 18, and then again March 24 and 25, Maple Weekend is held across the state. There are 177 maple farms across New York state set to open up their sugarhouses to show people just how real maple syrup is made, and of course offer some tasty samples.

Some smaller maple producers still use buckets to collect sap.

Here in New York state, maple is more than just something sweet. It’s an important, growing part of our agriculture economy. 

In fact, New York is second in the nation — just behind Vermont — when it comes to maple syrup production.  With the largest number of tappable trees in the United States, there is great potential for us to become number one. 

As chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I have been working in recent years to support the growth of New York’s maple industry in a number of ways, including by securing money for important research. 

I will also be advocating for a new piece of legislation called “Maple One,” which has the ambitious goal of overtaking Vermont as America’s leading maple producer by issuing permits to allow farmers to tap maple trees on certain state-owned lands.

Maple products at the New York State Fair

The upcoming “Maple Weekend” events are the perfect way for people to not only sample everything maple syrup, but also to help support those who help put it on our tables. I hope you’ll take part in this sweet tradition.

For more information, on “Maple Weekend”, including a list of the participating sugarhouses nearest to you, visit the New York State Maple Producers Association website at www.nysmaple.com.

Local Producers Can Taste Test Products at Fort Drum Commissary

Here is some important information from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County:

Are you a producer trying to market a value added product? 

As part of the Food Hub Initiative Cornell Cooperative Extension and Food Venture Advisors (FVA) invite you to participate in a taste-testing of your product to a potentially significant market – Military Commissaries in the North East.

Northern New York producers making/marketing eligible products will lead the way by showcasing their value added foods at a taste testing in the Fort Drum Commissary from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 17.

Food Venture Advisors is searching for high quality, value added products that can meet required year round quantity and food safety standards and which contain mostly locally produced ingredients.  Producers will be asked to supply samples of their products to FVA.   

Samples should be delivered to CCE – Jefferson no later than Nov. 1. Examples of value added products include locally produced cheeses, pickled vegetables, jams, jellies, meat jerky, mustards etc. 

Producers with products that meet the criteria will be notified and should deliver their samples and for-sale products to the FVA warehouse at 200 Howk St., Watertown on Nov. 14. 

Products will be evaluated to ensure the product meets required quality, ingredients, packaging, production history, estimated capacity, etc.  

On the day of the event, FVA will transport all products to the Commissary in refrigerated vehicles.   Any unused products can be returned to CCE Jefferson office for producers to pick up after the event.   

Producers are invited to attend and participate at the event and will be carpooled onto the Fort from CCE – Jefferson Office starting at 9 a.m. Producers will be allowed to sell their product during the tasting. However, samples are not reimbursable. 

Please bring your own sample spoons, cups, napkins, plates, signage, etc. The Commissary will provide: tables, trash, staff and marketing.

Products which attract significant interest at the event will be selected by the Commissary staff.  Selected products will be stocked on a limited basis and distributed by FVA to the Fort Drum Commissary.   

Note: as with any retail opportunity distribution fees and retail markups apply. However, Commissaries generally mark up products only 5 percent. 

For more information contact Remy Cline at (315) 789-0042.

Maple Producers Visit Sugarhouse in Lewis, Jefferson Counties

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news04/state-maple-producers-visit-sugarhouses-in-jefferson-and-lewis-counties--20170816 to check out the story.

First Maple Weekend Set for March 18-19

Maple Weekends, New York’s annual celebration of all that is maple, are being held March 18 and 19 and March 25 and 26.
 
On those weekends, many producers throughout the state open up their operations so the public can see how trees are tapped, how sap is collected and how sap is boiled down to make syrup. Some producers even operate pancakes breakfasts featuring their fresh maple syrup.
 
Go to http://www.nysmaple.com/maple-weekend-search/plan-your-maple-weekend/ to find a maple weekend site near you.
 
The production of maple syrup is extremely weather dependent — producers need cold night in the upper 20s and daytime temperatures in the low to mid-40s. 

According to statistics from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, the earliest a maple season began was Jan. 10 in 2011. The latest a season began was April 1 in 1940.
 
Last year, temperatures were a bit crazy, going up and down for a couple of months.
 
At the beginning of February, the weather warmed up just enough for many producers to head out to their trees, tap and start harvesting sap. Temperatures need to be about 40 degrees or a little higher during the day to get the sap flowing and then down below freezing (not too cold, in the upper 20s is best) at night.
 
As producers relished making syrup early in the season, their happiness was short-lived as temperatures plummeted in mid-February — even hitting single digits for highs Feb. 14 and lows way below zero for three straight days (Feb. 13, 14 and 15).
 
Producers got back to harvesting sap and making syrup in March and the season ended on a great note — a record 707,000 gallons of syrup were made.
 
The biggest maple county in the state is Lewis County, which also is home to the state’s Maple Museum.
 
Most recent figures for value of maple syrup production in New York:
2005: $7,037,000
2006: $8,020,000
2007: $7,638,000
2008: $13,907,000
2009: $17,820,000
2010: $12,293,000
2011: $22,052,000
2012: $15,660,000
2013: $25,026,000
2014: $21,676,000
2015: $25,242,000
Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service

Opportunities Abound in Maple Industry

From Empire Farm & Dairy magazine

By LESLIE SHELDON

GOUVERNEUR — There are plenty of opportunities for success in the maple industry.
 
That was the message stressed by Ryan Caldwell, director of sales for Parker’s Real Maple of Canton, St. Lawrence County, during Maple Expo on Jan. 28 at Gouverneur High School.
 
“Everybody can be successful in this business,” Caldwell said. “People want it (maple syrup) and it will not not sell.”
 
The event, in its fifth year, was hosted by the Gouverneur FFA and attracted more than 120 maple farmers ranging from hobbyists to large-scale producers.
 
Workshops were offered by Cornell University maple and forestry experts, maple producers, Farm Credit East and Family Farm Insurance agents.
 
Helen Thomas, executive director of the New York Maple Producers Association, was the keynote speaker. She explained what the organization is doing to promote the maple industry and assist maple producers in growing their businesses.
 
Michael Farrell, director of Cornell University’s Uihlein Forest, a maple syrup research and extension field station in Lake Placid, discussed marketing ideas in one of his workshops.
 
“The more we put into marketing the more we will sell,” Farrell said. “There is a huge opportunity to get people to consume it.”
 
In the United States the annual consumption of maple syrup is only 2 to 4 ounces per capita.
 
Doug Thompson of Gouverneur produces maple syrup from 9,000 tree taps. He also buys sap from neighbors. He sells most of his syrup in bulk and sells maple candy and cream.
 
Thompson chose not to boil sap in mid-January during a warm spell because of the size of his operation. He intended to spend most of February drilling taps.
 
Mike and Sharon McConlogue of Macomb tapped some trees on Jan. 15 during a warm stretch and produced about a gallon and a half of syrup from 40 taps.
 
The McConlogues, originally from Forked River, N.J., are just learning about maple syrup production. Mike says this is just a hobby for them, and he doesn’t intend to tap all of their 350-400 trees at once.
 
Mike said people from their area of New Jersey are aware of real maple syrup but are not familiar with other maple products.
 
Joshua Parker, CEO of Parker’s Real Maple, was scheduled to speak about finding success in the maple industry at a young age. He was unable to attend due to a delayed flight in New York City, and Caldwell filled in on his behalf.
 
Parker was producing maple syrup at age 11 with 100 buckets, 3,000 taps in 2015 or at age 15? started selling maple syrup at age 15. 

Last fall he appeared on the TV show “Shark Tank” to try to get investors interested in his maple butter and cotton candy products. He did not secure an investment but the national exposure did help his business sales.
 
Parker, now 19, has 15-20 people involved in the production of the company’s products.
 
Caldwell, 20, said the company’s success is due to their persistent marketing efforts.
 
They attend food shows across the country to help attract buyers to their products.

More than 120 people attended the program, said Gouverneur FFA President Kennedy Hayden McGill.

Maple Expo was supported by Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County and St. Lawrence County Maple Producers Association.

“There’s a lot to be said to make sure you put out the highest-quality product,” Farrell said. “If it’s not the highest quality it shouldn’t go in a bottle.”

Maple Weekends Coming in March

Maple Weekends, New York’s annual celebration of all that is maple, are being held March 18 and 19 and March 25 and 26.
 
On those weekends, many producers throughout the state open up their operations so the public can see how trees are tapped, how sap is collected and how sap is boiled down to make syrup. Some producers even operate pancakes breakfasts featuring their fresh maple syrup.
 
Go to http://www.nysmaple.com/maple-weekend-search/plan-your-maple-weekend/ to find a maple weekend site near you.
 
The production of maple syrup is extremely weather dependent — producers need cold night in the upper 20s and daytime temperatures in the low to mid-40s. 

According to statistics from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, the earliest a maple season began was Jan. 10 in 2011. The latest a season began was April 1 in 1940.
 
Last year, temperatures were a bit crazy, going up and down for a couple of months.
 
At the beginning of February, the weather warmed up just enough for many producers to head out to their trees, tap and start harvesting sap. Temperatures need to be about 40 degrees or a little higher during the day to get the sap flowing and then down below freezing (not too cold, in the upper 20s is best) at night.
 
As producers relished making syrup early in the season, their happiness was short-lived as temperatures plummeted in mid-February — even hitting single digits for highs Feb. 14 and lows way below zero for three straight days (Feb. 13, 14 and 15).
 
Producers got back to harvesting sap and making syrup in March and the season ended on a great note — a record 707,000 gallons of syrup were made.
 
The biggest maple county in the state is Lewis County, which also is home to the state’s Maple Museum.
 
Most recent figures for value of maple syrup production in New York:
2005: $7,037,000
2006: $8,020,000
2007: $7,638,000
2008: $13,907,000
2009: $17,820,000
2010: $12,293,000
2011: $22,052,000
2012: $15,660,000
2013: $25,026,000
2014: $21,676,000
2015: $25,242,000
Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service

New York Maple Syrup Business Triples in Size

Check this out folks.

Go to http://2paragraphs.com/2017/01/parkers-maple-syrup-on-shark-tank-tripled-in-size-overnight/ to see what has happened to a maple syrup producer since he made an appearance on "Shark Tank."