By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON – Cold temperatures will make for a late but favorable sugaring season, according to Charlie Hitchman, who runs the maple-learning farm at Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Hitchman said he spent the past week tapping more than 1,000 trees with minimal help, but said he is pleased when he is joined by students with an interest in learning a craft, because it’s something they aren’t likely to lose.

“Once you get maple in your blood,” he said. “It stays there.”

Maple weather

Hitchman has worked at the extension for 15 years and has drawn maple sap for the past eight.

He expects a good season this year as the cold weather continues to hang on. And while last year was also a good season because of its early start, Hitchman said this year is a return to what was once the norm.

“It’s later than what it has been the last couple years, but six or seven years ago this about when we used to start,” he said. “I think it will be a good year. The more frost you have in the ground the longer for it takes the trees to mature and the sugaring season is over when the buds come out.”

Hitchman said this is just about the right time to start tapping trees, though some might wait a bit longer and others may have already been cooking syrup, he says it’s more personal preference than exact science.

“Everyone does things a little bit differently,” he said.

Hitchman said ideal maple flow conditions are when temperatures dip into the mid to high twenties at night and rise into the mid to high 30s during the day.

He said improved flows occur when precipitation falls or when accumulated snow melts into the ground. But, regardless of when trees are tapped the harvest is largely dependent on the weather.

“You aren’t going to rush it. It’s going to happen when Mother Nature wants to happen,” Hitchman said of the flows.

Learning experience

While the majority of trees at the learning farm drain sap into vacuum tubes, Hitchman said the farm also uses some bags and buckets to show visitors other methods that can be used for harvesting.

Those visitors are often local students. Recently students from Canton and Gouverneur Future Farmers of America clubs spent a day learning about sugaring. He said a group of BOCES students would be joining him later in the week.

“You never stop learning. I learned a lot from my father-in-law and I’ve learned a lot at the extension, but I’ve learned just as much by visiting my neighbors, talking to other producers and seeing how they do things,” he said.

During visits students learn about process. How sap is collected from the trees and how it is then boiled down into syrup. Hitchman said it takes about 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup, which can be a time consuming, but rewarding process.

Two-way street

He said the farm has grown from its humble beginning, when his father-in-law Gary LaParr, donated 250 metal buckets to harvest sap, into the vacuum-tubed 1,100-tap operation it is today.

He said the growth and success is largely due to the generosity and support of the St. Lawrence County Maple Producers Association, which has made various donations of equipment to ensure the learning farm can operate and serve the community.

“They’re an awful big help to our operation,” he said.

In return, Hitchman says the extension uses the resources to keep up on current technologies, studies and methods, which it provides to the producers and the public.

As for the products created at the learning farm, he said the vast majority of syrup is sold to Vermont, so the cooperative isn’t competing with local producers. Profits from the sale a put back into the farm to maintain and expand operation.

Hitchman said a small portion of the maple stays at the learning center where it is processed into syrup and other maple goods

“People can come in and see how different products are made,” he said.

Hitchman said plans to continue sugaring in the future, and thinks the tradition will always endure.

“It’s there and I think it will always be there. There is always a new generation interested in learning and there are a lot of organizations and producers out there willing to teach,” he said.

To learn more about the sugaring process or the learning farm visit http://www.cceslc.com/.