By Patricia Measer
It’s that time of year again, when folks all over New York are starting to collect the sap from sugar maple trees. The sap is used to make everything from syrup to candy to sugar and ever-more popularly craft beer. It’s a popular activity that some families have been engaged in for generations. It’s also a growing segment of the economy. Maple products made by commercial “sugarmakers”, as they are called, are now in the top 10 list of goods produced and sold in the state.
The New York State Maple Producers Association (NYSMPA) organizes an event every March called “Maple Weekend”, to showcase various farms and methods. Farms across the state invite visitors to their sugarhouses to experience firsthand the production of pure maple syrup. This year, the dates are March 18th-19th and 25th-26th, from 10am – 4pm each day. Over 130 farms are participating. At least a dozen of those are in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, some in our own back yard! A few of the sugarmakers will demonstrate the old-fashioned way of collecting sap and making syrup, while others will show how they use the latest technology to expand their capabilities. 
The traditional method of gathering the sap involves drilling a small hole into the tree, tapping a “spile” or drip spout into the hole, and then hanging a small bucket from the spile and waiting for the sap to slowly leak into the bucket. Depending on weather conditions, it could take a full day for the bucket to fill up. So, sugarmakers will gather from as many trees as possible. Recommended practice is to tap only one hole per tree for small trees, with maybe 2-3 holes on much larger trees.
The sap is then boiled down and filtered to make syrup. According to the NYSMPA, it takes an average of 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, so the more trees, the better. Obviously, just the collection process can be labor intensive. Some people get around that by involving their family or friends to help, making it a community event.
“I remember as a kid, my friends and I volunteered to collect all the buckets on the trees lining the road each day and bring them up to our neighbor John Cheney’s farm,” says Bemus Point native John Creager. “Mr. Cheney would reward us with syrup. It was fun, and it kept us busy for days.”
More modern methods of collection involve inserting a long tube into each hole and connecting the tubes so that they all funnel into a single containment tank. This eliminates the need to pick up buckets, as all the sap goes to one location. The sap may be pulled into the tank by using gravity, ensuring that the lines run downhill. Or, farmers may use a vacuum pump to keep the sap flowing.
Brothers Paul and Dana Lesefske use both methods at their farm in Gowanda, Maple Glen Sugar House.
During Maple Weekend, they give tours of their process, and discuss how the collection method depends on the location of the trees they are tapping. They also provide wagon rides through the sugar bush, give out samples of syrup, and offer treats like maple chili and maple hot dogs. “There are so many things we can do with maple syrup,” says Paul. “If a product doesn’t pan out, we can always make something else with it,” like maple vinegar, barbeque sauce and so much more. For example, the Lesefskes provide maple syrup to the Ellicottville Distillery, where it is a used in a special liqueur made there. In return, the distillery gives them oak barrels that were used to age bourbon. Paul and Dana use these barrels to flavor some of their syrup, marketing it as a separate product that will also be available during the tours. “Maple Weekend is a great opportunity for people to try something new and learning something!”
Maple Glen has about 7000 taps open right now. Their goal is to collect a half-gallon of sap per tap, but sometimes they get only a quart. Paul listed challenges that affect output, such as having to fight off red squirrels that like to poke holes in the tubing. Even the tiniest hole can cause vacuum loss, so not as much sap is captured. “Every one inch of vacuum loss is 5 percent loss of sap from a given tree,” he notes. Paul says they combat that problem by using censors that monitor for leaks. But even if they catch every leak, mother nature can play havoc, too. He notes that the sap flows the best under very specific weather conditions, in which it freezes at night and warms up a little during the day. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, their yield may not be as high as expected.
Once the sap is collected, it must be boiled down to get the syrup. The sap is only about 2% sugar, the rest mostly water, so boiling down the old-fashioned way, over a large stove, can be time consuming. The Lesefskes put the sap in a reverse-osmosis unit first to remove nearly 80% of the water. The remainder is still boiled and filtered but takes less than a tenth of the time to get a product with the correct sugar content, at the right temperature and consistency. They use an evaporator for that step in the process.
Even with the use of those machines, Paul says it is still a lot of work. “Anyone who wants to start out in this business needs to be a hard worker, and be patient. It doesn’t happen overnight,” he warns. The tree lots have be maintained to certain standards, which requires working year-round, not just during the sugar season. He also mentions the paperwork involved can be lengthy, especially if the business will be certified organic and certified “made in New York.” But, he said the pros of owning a maple farm are worth it. “I can spend time with my family enjoying the acreage in the summer, four-wheeling, and just hanging out. I really enjoy what I’m doing, and I’m my own boss.”
For more information on Maple Weekend, visit the website https://mapleweekend.nysmaple.com/