What's Happening at SMMSA!
Our tech session for this year was a trip to Hyde Park, VT to attend the Vermont Maple Conference hosted by UVM Extension & the Vermont Maple Sugar Maker's Association.

An early wake up call for SMMSA members who participated in the event; but well worth the trip and thank you Dewey for getting everyone there safely and on schedule to and from the event.

Topics included some of the following:
Food Safety - Elisa Valentine
2 Taps vs. 1 (a look at sap yields) - Tim Wilmont
Energy sources for boiling sap - Daniel Lalanne
Impacts of RO on syrup quality & flavor - Abby van den Berg
46 years of marketing bliss - Burr Morse
Beginning & backyard sugarmaker: Part I & II - george Cook
Impact of tubing and new technologies on maple syrup flavor - Joel Boutin
Update on current maple research - Tim Perkins
The new maple grading system & identifying maple off flavors - Henry Marckres
Customer Relations - Steve Wheeler
Roads in the sugarbush - Dave Wilcox
High vacuum without a pump - Tim Wilmont
Panel Discussion: Evaporator cleaning - Jacques Couture, Peter Purington, Jim Richardson, Brian Stowe
Energy Sources for boiling sape - Daniel Lalanne
How to be successful in getting a farm loan - Tom St. Pierre
Panel Discussion: tapping - Tom Branon, Jim Richardson, Russell Senesac, Brian Stowe
Sugarbush Health - Nancy Patch
Installing a vacuum system - Dave Butler
Taphole sanitation: how it effects sap yield - Tim Perkins
Cooking with maple - Colleen Palmer