From left, Patrick Ames, Charlie Hitchman, Jim Woodrow and Hugh Newton.

CANTON – The Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County is ready for maple season after remodeling its sugarhouse following a fire last March that destroyed an evaporator.

“When the chips are down you find out who your friends are.” The phone rang off the hook with local producers and members of the St. Lawrence County Maple Producer’s Association offering assistance and advice. The partnership which created the Extension maple program now helped us to rebuild,” he said.

Approximately 35 maple producers joined extension representatives at a ceremonial ribbon cutting recently. The CDL-Extension Sugarhouse boasts new flooring, efficient lighting, windows, a pine interior and of course, a bright and shining stainless steel wood fired evaporator, hood with preheater, and elevated sap storage tank,” according to Extension Executive Director Patrick R. Ames.

Ames says “a person almost needs sunglasses to take in all the stainless steel.”

He said the project could not have been possible without the support of CDL, the manufacturer; Jim Woodrow, the local distributor; and Hugh Newton, President of the Maple Producers Association.

CDL reportedly provided a 10 percent educational discount and donated the sap preheater unit valued at $1,800.

Woodrow worked closely with CDL on the extension’s behalf and also donated the sap storage tank valued at $1,000, according to Ames.

The Maple Producers Association donated four stainless steel syrup barrels, an additional $1,000 value. Hugh Newton served as a constant advisor and even assisted the claims adjuster in establishing a replacement cost for the unit, Ames said.

The Extension’s Youth and Family Program is offering an eight-week, hands-on maple course targeting the entire family. Participants will be involved with all aspects of the sugaring process, from tubing and tapping to making the finished product.

The cost is $25 per participant or $50 per family, which covers teaching materials, some meals, snacks, and syrup at the end of the season.

Schools are encouraged to visit during the annual March Maple Madness. Programs and fieldtrips are tailored to all age groups from pre-kindergarten to college age adults.

“No visit is complete without sampling pure maple syrup poured over cold ice cream,” Ames said.

For information and registration contact Amy Sands, 4-H Community Educator at 379-9192 or als23@cornell.edu today.