"Operations that once had 2,500 taps may now have 35,000; Somerset County in northwestern Maine has recently seen new operations spring up with 100,000 or more taps, often run by Quebecers who want to get around the provincial quota system," Taylor writes in an email to The Rural Blog. "So the industry is now headed in the same direction as dairy, with production outstripping demand and brokers and other bulk purchasers carrying over inventory from last season and imposing limits on what producers can bring them. The bulk price five years ago hovered close to $3 per pound, now it has settled at below $2." A gallon weighs 11 pounds.
Perdue listens as Kevin Harrison of Georgia Mountain Maples explains the workings of his processing system. (Maple News) |
Bruce Bascom of Bascom Maple Farms, New Hampshire's top producer, also sells supplies and equipment, and told The Rural Blog that part of the business has reached "a soft spot" due to low prices. "People invested in maple for a lot of emotional and irrational reasons," he said, but the number of taps keeps growing 7 to 10 percent a year as consumption is goes up about 7 percent annually, and he voiced confidence: "In the next 12 to 15 years, the industry's gonna double again." He said it has been boosted by heavy promotion from the Quebec industry and a growing desire of U.S. consumers for natural syrup rather than the "chemical concoctions" sold under popular brands.
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