A sweet business

Maple syrup production a springtime ritual for the Yoder family

By Joanne Lehman

In a few days, the steam billowing from a white building on the Levi A.E. Yoder farm will subside. Then neighbors will know maple syrup season is finished for another year.

The Levi A.E. Yoder farm near Millersburg may be the area"s largest producer of maple syrup. They have 2,100 taps and produce an average of 600 to 700 gallons of syrup every year. Several members of the three generations of the Yoder family help with the business at peak season.

Eli A. Yoder, father of Levi, is the original owner of the syrup business, which he has passed on to his son. He said that by June of last year, the family sold out of syrup. Prices are determined by the Canadian market place, which produces 80 percent of all maple syrup. Prices are based on supply and demand. Last year"s crop brought $24 to $28 per gallon. The price for a gallon of syrup this year is $33 because of projected shortages.

Only a few states in the U.S. have the right weather and growing conditions to produce maple syrup. Ohio is the most western state producing maple syrup. Others are Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania and Maine.

Eli Yoder said he learned about maple syrup production from his father, who tapped 40 trees on his family farm. The family started their business in the 1940s, during the sugar rationing of WW II.

When Eli bought the farm at 2290 CR 58, Millersburg, the previous owners had sold off many of the largest maple trees for lumber. In 1951, Eli Yoder started out with 30 taps. (Only 12-inch in diameter trees or larger are tapped). By working with a forester, the family has been able to promote the ongoing health of the trees on his property.

"When I started this my dad really encouraged me," he said. "It"s a time of the year when you aren"t doing other farm work, before crops. It gets in your blood when spring comes," he said.

Maple sugaring weather is underway when there is a brief succession of chilly nights and mild days. Experts say for the maple sap to run, the nights must be cold, below freezing, without being too cold.

Ideally, night temperatures should be in the mid 20"s. If the temperature falls too far below freezing, the sap will take too long to warm up the next morning, and will not run well.

Daytime temperatures are also important. Temperatures during the day should be in the mid 40"s according to most people. If the temperature doesn"t rise above freezing, the sap will not run at all. If the temperature is too high, the sap won"t run either. People who make maple syrup are experts at watching the weather, noting the weather temperatures, and reading the signs.

The Yoder family usually begins syrup production between Feb. 22 and March 1. By mid-March the season is over; it"s never more than four weeks long. Toward the end of the season, the syrup produced will be darker.

Eli knows when the season is about to end. Two signs that signal the end of the season for him are when there is a warm southwest wind for two to three days straight and when the spring peepers start to sing.

The Levi A.E. Yoder maple syrup production utilizes modern methods for collecting sap in the sugar bush and transporting it to the sugar house. The trees are located on a hill behind the pasture. A tree 12 inches in diameter will have one tap inserted. An 18-inch tree will have two and so on, with another tap added for every six inches in diameter. Too many taps for the size of the tree will result in a sick or dying tree.

Years ago, buckets were hung from taps, and some producers still use these. More often now, plastic tubing connects the taps, allowing the sap to flow into a central collection system. A storage tank at the edge of the woods holds the sap temporarily. From there it is pumped to the sugarhouse, where it enters a stainless steel evaporator where water is removed. Distilled water, a byproduct, may be bottled for home use if workers have the time.

The sap must reach a temperature of seven degrees above the boiling point of water. A gauge on the stainless steel evaporator allows workers to monitor the temperature and stoke the fire in the firebox. In some places, other fuels are used but the Yoder family burns wood since they have an ample supply available- scrap lumber from a local pallet maker. The wood storage area of their building is by far the largest section of the building. A forklift moves the huge woodpiles to the furnace at the base of the evaporator.

As it cooks, the syrup gradually makes its way through a series of compartments and is filtered through a muslin cloth filter and a heavier fiber cloth. The filter draws off a sand-like residue that forms during cooking. In the final section of the evaporator, syrup remains at the correct temperature for bottling. A faucet near the bottom of the evaporator allows the producer to draw off the finished syrup. The producer bottles the syrup immediately or stores, re-heats and seals it later.

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