Here is a sap story about how real maple syrup is made! Here at Boxler Maple Farm we have 32,000 taps and are certified organic! You can find our product at boxlermaple.com
Hey there lady! Nice to meet ya! We do syrup here in MI on our farm, though not as many taps,lol! I was the one doing all the work and dumping 300 buckets a day plus chopping wood and cooking sap caring for farm and kids was exhausting! We switched to vacuum lines and ill never go back 😂. We can only run maybe 800 taps here, but we still have lots of perfecting to do on our line system :( we run a shurflo pump so it's a bit newer style of pumping than the vacuum tube pumps. Hope your season is going great! We didn't tap this year (need new sugar shack) but it would have ended last week anyway... normal for us is into mid April 😮 take care ❤
Would love to see more details! Maybe a little history on how you have added the technology over the years. Do you sell your product just in the barrels to another party or do you actually bottle it and sell it at retail?
Just found your channel and really enjoying the videos. As a young kid in the '70s, I was the major driver behind 2 small operations on our properties in MA and NH. It started out as a bucket operation of ~1400 taps but even as a young teen I was a tech geek (yes, I ended up doing a 30 year tour in the Silicon Valley). I designed installed a new tubing system, then vacuum. This was was all very new then - RO was just being talked about in the industry. We burned wood and I remember looooong nights keeping the boil going during peak season. Other ventures called, but the memories - mmmm. Thanks for taking me back and it's really nice to see your family operation. Best wishes.
Hi Nikki great video. I’ve always wanted to run some lines on my 180 acres here in central NY. At some point could you explain how to identify certain types of maple trees? I’ll be following your channel. 👊🇺🇸
WOW! As a maple producer who wanted to get big I can't imagine the investment you folks have made to make maple. Keep these video's coming I will never get that big BUT sure do enjoy watching your video's. Thank you
Just found your channel via NYFG’s. I am in Maine and there is a Maple operation down the road. It is no where as big as your but runs miles of lines too. Would like to know more about RO part of process and what do you use for a heat source? Neat channel good luck with it.
HELLO NIKKI Really enjoy your videos you do a very professional job. keep up the great job. How many gallons a year do you produce? some time explain what the osmosa machine does like to hear you explain it. Gary in grain valley, mo
Hi, I ran across your channel from a NY Farm Girls video today. In that video I saw you measuring the vacuum on the system and I thought I heard you mention a reading of 25 to 27, I assume that's in inches of mercury? If so it seems like there is quite a substantial volume in all of the piping. What is the CFM rating of the vacuum pump(s) that you use? I'm used to dealing with A/C systems where 8 CFM is a large pump but our volume is usually less than what a 1 gallon pail would hold. I can only imagine that your pump system must be several hundred CFM. Thanks and have a great day!
Yes we immediately pull the spouts at the end of the season. A healthy tree will grow over the hole in a year. We tap the tree in a different location each year.
That's quite the operation. I just finished my first maple syrup season here in Ontario using pots over an open fire. not the most efficient, but had a good test run. will be looking at streamlining my whole process next year.
This was a great video, a fellow NYer here Catskill’s , just starting to tap my trees this season first time ever have about 300 trees some over 4 ft round hope it works!!
So this is how to sugar if you want to make money. Old school sugaring is far more work but the process is worth it. A combination of technology and old school works for us. Maple on people!
Hey Nikki, Just found your channel thru NY Farmgirls and wanted to say I like you and your content so I subscribed! Wanted to see you do a unedited normal speed cold start video on your gas chainsaws to show how many pulls it takes just you to get them started and running when the engines are cold to your touch because they haven't been started for awhile. Nothing but love
hey I took in two resucue dogs, spring being nature, female got pregnant, I'm now too proud owner of four male healthy puppies, sister. Be well, prosper always, think of you often, be well.
Just found you thru NYFG and wow what a difference from dumping a few buckets of sap when i was a kid and we could get sap a qt at maybe a half gal on a good year new sub and I like to know the history of the farm and when all the upgrades took place. Do you make any other products or will you when you have your retail operation up?
Thank you I’m guessing you sell milk to the same group Andy Huurigan and his family sell too. Over 1000 head milkers. You’re also getting a mid Midwest John Deere dealership into your area as well. Noble Sydenstricker Has moved into New York
Your maple syrup operation is amazing!!! You earn every drop of maple syrup that you make. Just keeping fallen trees and limbs off your lines must be a full time job. I’m very impressed. An Ohio maple syrup enjoyer!
Nikki!! Question? Sorry if you answered this a million times, I understand the cold nights warmish days is good for sap flow, but you mentioned wind, how does wind effect sap flow, but more importantly why???? Thanks for your hard work and sweet syrup
Fantastic. So you have to do the work and do social media. Wow Good on ya lass great hustle and great work for your families brand. I hope they see how important that is in these times
@@MapleFarmer hang in there. What you are doing is the long play. Short plays are easiest to see and measure but only have one dimension. What you are doing has width and depth. You probably know all that already. Carry on I’ll be watching, I just started working out again! Thank you
Are the trees effected by the taping process. Does taping shorten their life span. How many litres does a tree produce per season. Are the hose lines always under a vacuum to help suck the syrup. In the old days I assume they didn’t use Reverse Osmosis. How did the old methods compare to todays methods. Are prices you get fixed over the industry by a governing body. How many trees do you need to support a family business. Asking from a non maple syrup country, New Zealand
Nice video, I didn't see the reversed osmose process before in making Maple syrup. I see you have no organic label on your product. Is it to reduce costs in order to pay for the certificate or is there something in the process that makes your syrup non organic?
I can remember when your grandfathet,Hans would pull in to the tractor pull late unload the special ,get weighed ,take it out the end with a full pull, win the class ,load up and go home!!!! That was classy.Dont see that anymore.
My grandfather had a dairy farm in Granville, N.Y. Wow making syrup sure has come a long way. When I was real young the sap went into buckets but later the plastic tubing brought it to the cook house which was a huge vat that was heated with firewood. Stunk like hell until it caramelized.
I find it interesting that you use diatomaceous earth. Years ago it was pretty common to use in pool filtration systems. You learn something new everyday. Good video.
Really interesting. I did think that Maple Syrup was only a Canadian thing. Is US syrup different in taste to the Canadian stuff [I've only seen Canadian Maple Syrup in UK shops]?
Nikki, your family has one impressive syrup operation.. You all should be very proud of what the family has built.. It's simply amazing!!.. Looking forward to more videos in the future!!.. Thank you..
Great video, found your channel from NYFG. I am just outside Rochester and have about 8 acres and hope to do some tapping in the future. Thanks for all the info.
I just found your channel and I've already learned a lot about the modern maple syrup business. Your family business is impressive to say the least. You definitely have a family of hard workers.
Roughly how many taps do you have? It’s a big operation,we tap 300 and boil on a 2x8. I feel so inadequate 😞. Seriously you have a nice setup,and your cute also🌹
Took us over 30 years and investing every penny back into the business to get here and we still don’t collect paychecks from Maple as we are still investing everything back into it.
Hi, I live in Central N.Y.. We get a lot of snow in this part of the State. I didn't think the Western part of N.Y. Got that much snow. It looks like you get a good amount out there as well. Nice Operation. You certainly aren't afraid of hard work. Good luck with your Sales this year, and passing your Class A road test.
Thank you so much! We tend to get all the lake effect snow, I think on record for the state of NY I believe the Buffalo, Ny / Western New York area gets the most snowfall.
I see these same lines running through the woods in Northern Wisconsin, where I'm from. How do you keep the animals, especially the deer from running through and knocking the lines down. Awesome video.
We have never has deer run through them instead they chew on them! During maple season we are walking the lines nonstop to look for damage due to animals, wind and snow.
Why is there such a strong demand for most consumers to prefer the very light ambient Grade A syrup which requires the use of diatomaceous earth? I much prefer the very dark and full flavor of what used to be considered Grade B or bakers grade syrup! Could not find the DARK syrup on your website, do you offer that as well? Your videos are very interesting and helpful for southerners like myself who are clueless in the ways of maple syrup collecting - processing! Thanks!
New subscriber. Saw you on NYfarmgirls. Your content is interesting! Buckle up! Cause your channel is headed to the moon🌙! P.S. I think you’re pretty lol!
Well to give you an honest opinion I watch a lot of RU-vid farmers and have watched quite a few of the successful ones from early in their careers. I have predicted most of the successful ones by watching one video. You are definitely in that category! My advice is to always do your videos with your face in the frame of the camera and keep things moving. You are very intelligent from what I’ve seen and I have no doubt you will be successful at this if you keep after it! Best of luck to you! From a young farmer in eastern Nebraska
That was very informative !! Out of all the trees you guys tap what is the total gallon of syrup per season ?? ( Ball park figure ) Being from the south we don't see this
@@MapleFarmer Thank you for the reply !! Man just watching your videos it really takes a lot of sap to get a gallon of syrup !! Your videos are awesome ,keep em coming !!
Hello! SO many questions lol!!! This is over the top interesting!!! How often does the vacuum pump run to pull sap? Is it constant suction or on a timer? How often do you deal with falling trees reeking havoc on all the tubing runs? Life of a sap tree? Would drawing the sap slow the tree growth - maybe extending the life of the tree or at least it's sap production? Do you do any fertilizing or nutrient supplements for the trees? Thank you in advance.
All wonderful questions that I will try to make a video about! We are certified organic and do not use any fertilizer or supplements on our trees as they grow naturally here!
Very interesting. Many questions: any problem with the sap (mostly water I presume) freezing in the lines on a cold night? Ever have so much snow that you can’t get in to the woods effectively? Do you tap only sugar maples, or red maples as well? How long has that land been in your family? Is the flow of sap entirely due to gravity? How do deer not get tangled up in the lines? Great video, thank you.
It’s ok if the sap freezes in the lines, it’ll thaw out next day. Freezing is actually how syrup used to be made; freeze the water out and separate the syrup. Snow can make getting into a sugar bush difficult, but it’s rare that it’s a big issue at this time of year. Any deciduous tree can provide syrup! There is quite the difference in sap to syrup ratios though (sugar maple is 40:1, silver maple is 100:1), and the flavour can be very different. Gravity isn’t 100% essential. It goes up the tree somehow, right? That’s from the pressure created in the roots. But having your lines with a gentle slope downhill is helpful. Deer are pretty good about avoiding the lines. On occasion they will bump loose a line. But not often.
Hi, I also found your channel from your NYFG exposure. I have a logging background, when logging an old sugar bush or thinning, the logs needed a 4 foot block taken off the bottom to avoid old metal taps from getting into the saw at the sawmill. Modern tapping methods also tap much higher than the old metal tap and bucket. Do you know if modern plastic taps are better for the timber value of the sugar bush?
It's a shame that you people have to use the r o our children will never know what Maple syrup is because anything over 8% it takes the flavour out I've drove all over trying to get some real Maple syrup but you just taste in it and the flavours not there
It would be literally impossible to boil these volumes without an R/O. If you had a few hundred taps that's one thing, but when you're several thousands if not 10's of thousands of taps, you'd never boil it all.
@@jaredlaroche523 You sound like a good person But the truth of the matter is it shouldn't be called Maple syrup if you use R O more than 8% because it changes and it's really not Maple syrup it's just syrup I am not trying to be an idiot here but if somebody doesn't stand up will lose Maple syrup forever please try to understand
I still don't think you understand how an ro works. Like I said I'll do a video on it and if you don't believe that it's maple syrup you can stick with mrs butterworth ...😂
@@MapleFarmer Just trying to help no need to be angry but if you don't want to sell real Maple syrup and Lie to the people and make it with r o People are not stupid eventually theyll figure it out that there's no Maple taste to it once you run through the R O There is got to be a way where you can make Maple syrup and not take the Maple flavour out just might take a little bit of research and development Look I'm seriously trying to help all you people from going out of business but if all you see is the profit than I will pray for you thank you and God-bless
@@MapleFarmer No worries. Heck, I like AC/DC. It's just that your vids are relaxing and scenic and outdoorsy ...and then screeetch! (Music sets the mood.) Some vids I watch often to unwind. Maple vids in particular during the hot summer when I'm longing to get back to my sugar shack.
