After recently reading the article “Tapping into a new reality” (Monitor front page, Jan. 28), I felt compelled to chime in on the subject of sustainability in New Hampshire’s maple industry, and indeed the maple industry as a whole.
I agree wholeheartedly that climate change is on the mind of maple producers, as it is of other farmers, and best practices such as initial tapping of sufficiently mature trees (the North American Maple Producers Manual states one tap per 10- to 15-inch diameter tree) and maintaining those standards as they grow, as well as responsible forestry management, including but not limited to responsible timber harvesting, discouraging invasive plant species and reducing insect damage to the forests maple producers depend on by employing best management practices.
The part I have to respectfully disagree with is the adoption of the newest technology, which for the vast majority of maple producers now includes a vacuum system, meaning a pressurized vacuum system is actually sucking 400 percent of the sap that the tree would normally give on a traditional bucket or tubing system each season.
The issue is that vacuum does not simply yield 400 percent maple syrup. Why? Because the sap being sucked out of the trees with a vacuum system has up to 75 percent more water, routinely yielding a 0.75 percent to 1.4 percent sugar sap instead of the 2 percent to 2.5 percent sugar sap a traditional operation gathers.
It also allows vacuum users to force sap from the tree when conditions aren’t otherwise ideal (a little too cloudy or warm). Consequently, along with a vacuum system it becomes necessary to invest in apparatus like a reverse osmosis machine (to remove the excess water without a 150 percent increase in fuel usage) and pre-heaters, all of which change the process by which the syrup is made, and, in turn, the overall flavor and color of the finished product.
It has been a hot topic among industry leaders over the past few years, with many who have been making syrup for the better part of the last century believing that although new technology has done incredible things for production, and the industry would not be what it is today without these advancements, the overall taste of maple syrup produced today with this new technology and methodology has changed substantially as a result.
The syrup produced with these newer methods is darker, but not necessarily with more flavor. Because the syrup is boiled for far less time, the sugars don’t caramelize the same, resulting in what many of our customers believe is a darker but less-flavorful syrup than with the traditional method of feeding cold sap into a hot evaporator unadulterated. In short, the emphasis has become on quantity, not quality.
When concerns of the effects of drought on agriculture as well as the health of New Hampshire’s many beautiful rivers, lakes and streams are on the minds of so many throughout the state, it strikes me as odd that when it comes to maple farmers it seems to be largely ignored that forcing 400 percent of the sap from maple trees is widely accepted as a sustainable practice.
The vacuum salesmen wholeheartedly purport that production will double with no damage to the trees. But how can the maple industry possibly be immune while farmers across the board are struggling to survive from drought effects? How can we experience it firsthand in our home gardens and orchards, as annual and perennial crop volumes plunge, young fruit trees struggle to survive and as our neighbors’ wells go dry, but expect immunity of maple orchards?
Quite bluntly, we can’t, and I believe it somewhat shortsighted to accept the sales pitch of increased production and revenue without consequences.
The vacuum system doesn’t filter out the sugar and return the excess water to the tree; the tree must replenish from available water in the environment, and season after season, when drought conditions persist, I sincerely believe that the long-term health of the trees is diminished.
If short-term production is the goal, and long-term health of the orchard is not, I can see how this would be of little concern, but we lease orchards from our family, friends and neighbors, as well as tapping our own trees.
I have to believe the responsible practice remains to take what the tree would normally give, and 400 percent of that standard is excessive and quite possibly harmful. I understand that it has become the new industry norm, and applaud those producers who are doing their best to otherwise responsibly manage trees, being mindful of tapping standards, and striving to reduce insect, microorganism and invasive plant issues. I applaud them, too, for sharing information with other local producers to the benefit of all. And those who have purchased super-efficient evaporators and systems that run on wind and solar power are clearly working to benefit the environment through their efforts as well.
But for now, we will continue to make syrup sans vacuum, despite the production advantages, in the hopes that our orchards and those we lease will have every advantage with concerns of persistent drought looming, and our maple products will retain the most traditional full maple flavor possible.
(Adrienne Hutchinson is co-owner of Hutchinson Family Sugarhouse in Canterbury.)