Tapping time
#6788683
03/01/20 01:12 PM
03/01/20 01:12 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,797 Wisconsin
The Beav
OP
trapper
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OP
trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,797
Wisconsin
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Any one tapping trees yet? Put In some on Friday haven't looked at them yet.
The forum Know It All according to Muskrat
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Re: Tapping time
[Re: The Beav]
#6788694
03/01/20 01:24 PM
03/01/20 01:24 PM
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Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 5,473 West Central MN
20scout
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 5,473
West Central MN
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if this warm weather holds, I'll be tapping soon.
Common sense is a not a vegetable that does well in everyone's garden.
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Re: Tapping time
[Re: The Beav]
#6788760
03/01/20 02:52 PM
03/01/20 02:52 PM
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Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 8,866 Indiana
Providence Farm
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 8,866
Indiana
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Completed a little over 3 gallons. I thing we may be about finished I have seen a few maples round with buds. Not on our farm yet though.
Edit... I hot back from being away for work and my wife has pulled the taps for the year.
Last edited by Providence Farm; 03/02/20 06:09 PM.
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Re: Tapping time
[Re: The Beav]
#6788828
03/01/20 04:16 PM
03/01/20 04:16 PM
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krispcritter
Unregistered
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krispcritter
Unregistered
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I'm on the plus side of 3 gallons. and the coming weeks look awesome for flows. 50 taps out, 24 on gravity, 7 on vacuum and the rest on sap sacks. wanted to put out more but this is all time allows this season.
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Re: Tapping time
[Re: The Beav]
#6788955
03/01/20 06:41 PM
03/01/20 06:41 PM
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Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,482 Ne pa
Jerry Jr.
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,482
Ne pa
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We make 7quarts thus far. We only put 20 taps out on 9 trees. We should have started earlier as there was a pretty good run at the beginning of the month. Temps look to be improving this week so we shall see.
Gonna try and keep some records this year and next year we might go for 100 plus taps. I have to make a sugar shack this year tho.
Time is more precious than gold if you know how to spend it .... but what do I know, I'm just a dumb farmer.~My Dad NRA LIFE MEMBER, Endowment Member
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Re: Tapping time
[Re: bblwi]
#6789141
03/01/20 09:37 PM
03/01/20 09:37 PM
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 299 Iowa
1187 shooter
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 299
Iowa
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Heading out in 15 minutes to finish one large woodlot. We have about 600 taps in and about 250-300 to do. We are delaying some as we can't get our vehicles through the snow yet. We were looking at converting an otter sled and pulling with a snowmobile for a bit but that will be slow for sure.
Bryce How much syrup do you get a year and what do you do with all of it?
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Re: Tapping time
[Re: The Beav]
#6789292
03/01/20 11:26 PM
03/01/20 11:26 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,296 East-Central Wisconsin
bblwi
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,296
East-Central Wisconsin
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We get between 6 and 8,000 gallons of sap per year. We average about 2.8% sugar over the last 5 years. We don't cook any of our sap. We take it to a place about 15 miles away. He runs about 1300 trees and takes sap from roughly 6-10 other collectors. Last year was a slower year for volume. We collected 5,500 gallons but it averaged 3.3 sugar so got credit for 204 gallons of syrup. He gets half and we get half. We usually only take about 50 gallons of syrup and we get paid per point of sugar at the going rate per point for the remainder. We use that also to pay for the bottles, caps, bottling and any stuff we may want as for tubing, taps etc. We don't own any of the 10 woodlots we collect at and they all want syrup instead of cash for the tapping of the trees. We use some to give to land owners for trapping and our own and family uses. We sell the rest. This year I have a restaurant that wants quite a bit so we hope to sell more. We have some issues this year with drifted snow in places, and my partner is experiencing some hip and leg issues so we are in need of some part time help. We have about 100 trees on gravity lines and about 450 trees we collect in 5-6 gallon buckets so we carry a lot of sap. Hard work but enjoyable. I am 72 and he is 63 we just don't see the value in investing significant dollars in cooking equipment for that volume when we don't own the sugar bushes and our collecting future is not that long. We get supplies from Roth out of Cadott WI and also the place that cooks our sap is building a decent inventory or supplies for those of us that get our sap cooked there. He has a very modern and nice setup and just got a new oil fired evaporator and upgraded is RO machine as well. He is a road crew supervisor and he needs to be done and cleaned up by mid- April. We are tired by then and so are the trees.
Bryce
Last edited by bblwi; 03/01/20 11:35 PM.
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Re: Tapping time
[Re: bblwi]
#6789428
03/02/20 07:53 AM
03/02/20 07:53 AM
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 299 Iowa
1187 shooter
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 299
Iowa
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We get between 6 and 8,000 gallons of sap per year. We average about 2.8% sugar over the last 5 years. We don't cook any of our sap. We take it to a place about 15 miles away. He runs about 1300 trees and takes sap from roughly 6-10 other collectors. Last year was a slower year for volume. We collected 5,500 gallons but it averaged 3.3 sugar so got credit for 204 gallons of syrup. He gets half and we get half. We usually only take about 50 gallons of syrup and we get paid per point of sugar at the going rate per point for the remainder. We use that also to pay for the bottles, caps, bottling and any stuff we may want as for tubing, taps etc. We don't own any of the 10 woodlots we collect at and they all want syrup instead of cash for the tapping of the trees. We use some to give to land owners for trapping and our own and family uses. We sell the rest. This year I have a restaurant that wants quite a bit so we hope to sell more. We have some issues this year with drifted snow in places, and my partner is experiencing some hip and leg issues so we are in need of some part time help. We have about 100 trees on gravity lines and about 450 trees we collect in 5-6 gallon buckets so we carry a lot of sap. Hard work but enjoyable. I am 72 and he is 63 we just don't see the value in investing significant dollars in cooking equipment for that volume when we don't own the sugar bushes and our collecting future is not that long. We get supplies from Roth out of Cadott WI and also the place that cooks our sap is building a decent inventory or supplies for those of us that get our sap cooked there. He has a very modern and nice setup and just got a new oil fired evaporator and upgraded is RO machine as well. He is a road crew supervisor and he needs to be done and cleaned up by mid- April. We are tired by then and so are the trees.
Bryce Very interesting. I'd like to do it next year as a hobby (not nearly at that level of course) but know absolutely nothing about it.
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Re: Tapping time
[Re: The Beav]
#6789783
03/02/20 03:48 PM
03/02/20 03:48 PM
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 207 Western New York
dinorocks
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 207
Western New York
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I tapped my trees over the weekend. A good friend of mine enjoys making various outdoor-related YouTube videos (he is very talented) and came up with this.... Hello Everyone,
Here is the link to a new poverty Hill Adventures video about Dino. It is titled The Maple Syrup Maker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEqNmyL-sno
Had a bunch of fun filming it at Dino's place.
Have a great weekend,
Brian....and a little off topic but he shot this video the weekend prior (note, Bone Creek is what I named a small tributary on my property where the farmers of yester-year dumped their cow(etc.) carcasses (I added to it for a while until I built my sugar shack and couldn't stand the smell of the decomposing carcasses). Also note, I caught a beaver in the trap I set during the rendezvous which was an added bonus! Hi,
Here is the link to a new Povertyhill video titled Rendezvous at Bone Creek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkd6K53BhFo&t=2s
Thanks,
brian
"Speedy arrow, sharp and narrow" GD
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Re: Tapping time
[Re: The Beav]
#6789805
03/02/20 04:21 PM
03/02/20 04:21 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,934 SE WI
DuxDawg
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,934
SE WI
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Running fast and high sugar here.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke "We are fast approaching... rule by brute force." -Ayn Rand
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