Fall Maple Field Day attracts 60 producers from across eastern Ontario

Julie Druker | Sep 24, 2015

Close to 60 maple syrup producers from across eastern Ontario attended the Fall Maple Field Day event organized by the Lanark and District Maple Syrup Producers Association, which took place at three different locations in and around Sharbot Lake and McDonalds Corners on September 19.

Hosted by Mel and Joyce Conboy, and George and Darlene Conboy and their families, as well as the owners of Wheeler's Pancake House near McDonalds Corners, the event attracted producers from as far away as Cornwall, and Bancroft, with the majority of participants attending from the Lanark area. Participants visited both the Conboy family facilities and later in the day met at Wheeler's in McDonalds Corners for a tour of their state of the art facility and lunch.

The event offered producers tips on how to improve their production and the quality of their product, and included tours and talks at both of the Conboy family facilities, which are on the cutting edge of maple syrup production techniques.

At Mel and Joyce Conboy's, Bev Campbell of Lapierre Equipment spoke in depth on the topic of maple syrup density and the international grading system, and his power point presentation included looking at the latest methods and tools available to producers to improve grading reliability.

Just down the road at George and Darlene's, Bruce Gillilan of Leader Evaporator of Vermont spoke on the topic of the off flavours that can occur during the production process and the ways producers can avoid flavour contamination, which can occur as a result of chlorine, detergents, paints, metallics, plastics, filters and more.

Also in attendance at the field day was Terry Hoover, the new president of the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association (OMSPA), who himself owns and runs a certified organic, forced air wood-fired maple syrup facility in Atwood, near Listowel, Ontario, where his 1900 taps produce close to 600 gallons per year. Hoover said the event is unique in that it gives producers an opportunity to share information and to network with other producers across the province. “When it comes down to sales, the maple syrup industry like every other industry is competitive, but when it comes to the sharing of information, unlike other industries we like to open our doors to one another”. Hoover jokingly called the event “a legalized form of snooping” and said that the industry is unique in that way.

With 500 members in OMSPA and a tag line that reads, “Tap into the Knowledge”, Hoover's advice to people interested in getting involved in the industry is to become a member of the organization and to attend the OMSPA's annual information day, which will take place on Saturday, January 30 in McDonalds Corners. “Whether you have just two taps in your backyard or you are thinking about setting up a 20,000 tap operation, we at OMSPA have the resources people need.”

Hoover likes to make a personal guarantee that people who attend the Field Day events will come away having learned something new. For more information about OMSPA, visit their consumer website at www.ontariomaple.com. The association will be launching a new site for producers in the next few weeks and you can visit it at www.omspa.ca