0:51

Tubing

By: uvmext

Although sap is still collected by some maple producers in buckets or plastic bags, the majority of maple sap is currently collected using plastic spouts and a network of tubing lines. The standard tubing used for the lines that run from tree to t...

1:14

USDA Numbers

By: uvmext

The USDA released the estimates for the 2019 Vermont maple crop. The numbers show that Vermont produced just over 2 million gallons of syrup in 2019. This represents a nearly 50% of all the syrup produced in the US and just under 7% increase from ...

0:47

Vacuum

By: uvmext

Sap flows out of trees due to the difference in pressure between the inside and outside of the tree. In the 1950s, maple researchers and producers found that adding vacuum pumps to tubing systems could increase this pressure differential and there...

2:00

Water Bars

By: uvmext

Access to a sugarbush is critical for installing and repairing sap collection equipment, tapping and managing crop trees and responding to the effects of natural disturbances. Quality access to the sugarbush relies and a road and trail system that...

1:01

Why Does Sap Flow?

By: uvmext

Why Does Sap Flow from Maple Trees? Throughout the maple region, there are several weeks of alternating freeze and thaw temperatures each spring. This weather provides the right conditions for sap flow in maple. Unlike most trees, maples have tiny...

0:53

What's In The Sap?

By: uvmext

Maple sap, what's in it? Maple sap is a dilute solution of mainly water (95-99%) and sugar (1-5%), along with trace amounts of other substances, including: organic acids, free amino acids, protein, minerals, and phenolic compounds. Sap coming dire...

1:41

Bulk Syrup Sales

By: uvmext

According to the 2019 USDA NASS maple syrup report approximately 90% of Vermont's total annual maple syrup production (about 1.8 million gallons) was sold into the bulk market. The remainder of the crop was sold either to retail or wholesale custo...

1:42

Vacuum and Wounding

By: uvmext

A modern maple operation relies on a tubing system with vacuum to maximize sap production. The innovation of plastic tubing originally came as a labor-saving device and not to increase sap yield from individual trees. As the materials used to prod...

1:50

Vacuum and Sap Minerals

By: uvmext

A modern maple operation relies on a tubing system with vacuum to maximize sap production. The innovation of plastic tubing originally came as a labor-saving device and not to increase sap yield from individual trees. As the materials used to prod...