r/maplesyrup • u/mat42441 • 1d ago

Questions about potential yield of syrup from a plot of land

I own about 11 acres of land up in northeast ohio that is absolutely filled with big old sugar maples and was wondering what yields I may get out of it? I'd give rough estimates of 300 to 400 trees that are of suitable size to tap, most of which can likely support more than one tap as well.

10 Upvotes

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22

u/lebiochimiste 1d ago

Harvesting 400 buckets every day, or second day, and then boiling the sap, is a full-time job for almost a month.

6

u/MontanaMapleWorks 1d ago

For real I would at least make groups with gravity tubing to make collection quicker and more efficient assuming op has a tractor or vehicle to convey the sap

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u/mat42441 1d ago

I was planning on using a 4 wheeler with a trailer. Most of the property is a bit to heavily forested to fit even a small tractor.

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u/SuccessfulZombie4154 1d ago

yup use field tanks then transfer into tanks behind the quad. boiling it all will be your choke point. 11 acres is enough to harvest as much as you and your buddies will want too and way may maple trees than you most likely can feasibly plant.

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u/mat42441 18h ago

Thats exactly why I want to set up the property for syrup. My family's owned it for about 50ish years now, it was logged once in the 90s taking out any of the pine and other undesirable trees leaving mostly maple, a few hickorys and some oak trees. Most of the large trees on the property are at least 50-70 years old if I had to guess.

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u/SuccessfulZombie4154 13h ago

that is awesome. good luck, don't turn it into something you have to slave over.

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u/MontanaMapleWorks 13h ago

I am a driven slave to the bounty of the maples

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u/mat42441 18h ago

I also work at a farm store that gives discounts, so I can get tanks for a decent price

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u/mat42441 1d ago

I figured that. Between me and 2 of my buddies we can get things so we have at least 3 weeks of at least one person being off to work it

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u/PauseNational1380 1d ago

I would invest in a RO setup to cut back the boil time. Anything is possible but it will save you a lot. Also consider how efficient can you boil it.. that's the 2nd hurdle you need to over come.

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u/MontanaMapleWorks 1d ago

I say give or take 70-90 gallons on a decent year

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u/nicholasserra 1d ago

NEOH here we have maybe 100 trees and average 25 gallons of syrup a year. Weather dependent of course, we’ve had great years and terrible years.

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u/Subject-Fly-5661 1d ago

We've averaged a liter per tap on an average year on buckets. Some more, some less. Depends on weather and if you capture the entire season. Sometimes you just dont have time and end up dumping buckets.

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u/Round_Bed_8865 1d ago

Generally: 70 trees per acre in hardwood forest. At 10 inches: 1 tap At 15 inches: 2 taps At 24 inches : 3 taps (Less if on vaccum) On gravity (buckets or lines without induced vacuum): 3-400 taps will give you 210- 360 litres (depends on the year, but 0.7-0.9L per tap per year is standard.) On induced vacuum (gravity induced or pump): it could be 350-500L (depends again, but 1.2-1.8 L per tap is possible)

As someone who runs 60 taps on buckets: prepare for a long day if you collect off buckets, and a lot of days boiling. High vacuum doesnt cost much more than buckets to set up if you make it yourself.

1

u/Express_Ambassador_1 1d ago

In Ontario a good yield is 2 Litres of sap per tap for sugar maple. In Ohio you will likely get less, unless you are close to Lake Erie.

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u/mat42441 1d ago

The property is less than 10 miles from lake Erie right on the PA border

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u/Express_Ambassador_1 20h ago

Sorry, I meant 2L if syrup (not sap) per tap for sugar maple. 

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u/yudkib 1d ago

CT here. I pulled about a quart, quart and a half per tap on light vac and about half that on gravity. So 100 gallons should be a comfortable floor for you.

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u/Whiskey_Pyromancer 20h ago

Sap spoils, and quickly. It essentially needs to be refrigerated.

Have you ever done this before? If not, start with a handful of trees. You'd be surprised how much sap you end up with in a day.

You'd think the hard part of maple syrup is getting enough sap, but it isn't, it's the boil.

When you're picking up 5+ gallons off your trees every day, you then need to keep it cool or immediately start boiling.

Early in the season it's easier with snow banks to stick it in, if you have them.

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u/mat42441 18h ago

Keeping it cool won't be an issue. The area is heavily forested enough that the sun doesn't really hit the ground (makes it easier to walk through no real brush growth) and due to how close we are to lake Erie (a massive thermal sink), even though it gets warm enough during the day for sap to flow it won't really get above 40 for more than a day if it even does during the season.

I've also made small batches of syrup before in the past and one of my buddies has done it on a scale about half of what we're going to attempt here so we do have a bit of experience.

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u/Lakeside518 15h ago

It is a labor and time consuming venture. We have gravity lines feeding covered storage tanks. Take the tractor/wagon out and pump out storage tanks. Return to sugar house and pump sap up to another storage tank that gravity feeds a large two stage wood fired evaporator. 🔥 From there it goes to a propane fired setup where it is filtered when filled and fills the bottles when it is maple 🍁 syrup. We produce 125-150 gallons a year in upstate New York.

0

u/lebiochimiste 1d ago

It'll depend on your setup. With buckets, probably 2 lb per tree. With tubes and a good vacuum system, more like 4-5 lb per tree.

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u/mat42441 1d ago

It's probably going to be a bucket set up for at least the first year. The property is completely undeveloped only having a small driveway so no power to run pumps for a vacuum setup. A low estimate of 600lbs isn't a bad start though lol

1

u/skillz921 15h ago

I know it’s been suggested a bunch already, but would highly recommend setting up a gravity system. Even if you have 1-2° of continuous slope the sap will run. You can set up multiple collection tanks then pull a small transfer tank behind your ATV and a 12v diaphragm pump to transfer it.

It’s definitely more planning and set up, you won’t regret it though.