Maple Syrup As A Business - Is It Really Worth It?

We have a lot of fun collecting sap and making maple syrup each year, but is it really worth it? Here are some of the business aspects of making and selling maple syrup from a hobby level with the goal of producing commercially.
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[@KevinBrooks80]

I would look into building an RO unit. We built one for about $700. We used a pressure washer we had to drive it. The ability to cut boil time and wood use in half was huge for us this year.

[@ML-lg4ky]

It’s not worth it if you run a cost benefit analysis...But it is a fun hobby!

[@elizabeththequeen943]

I live in Vermont and many small syrup producers don't start by selling gallons; they start by selling quarts or half gallons. You charge a little more for the syrup per ounce/pound but with the lower price you have more buyers.

[@greensnapper1602]

@@tsx3214 Right with ya tsx I can see that E. the Queen don't watch SSL. on a Reg. or she would of known that.. Think a Gallon would not be Cheep plus can see a gallon being around for a While up on the shelf..

[@andrewsarles3520]

Not to mention a lot of days the sap wouldn't run until noon or later! I got 5 gallons out of 5 huge trees! All went in the pantry! I burnt probably a gallon and half fell asleep after work! I used those restaruant steam pans. I did learn if I keep the sap in a warm climate before the boil that took hours away from boiling!

[@northof7551]

What a great video. Thank you very much. We live on a hill with a large number of sugar maple. We put a dozen taps out and are having a lot of fun. After watching your video, we've decided to take it to the next level.

[@carlboehm3858]

Thanks for your time and effort putting together this series. I understand what most people don't ... As a Farmer/Homesteader our time is not paid like when being shackled to a job. They also have hidden costs that reduce the wage they receive ... (vehicles, gas, tires, maintenance, commute time, taxes ect ...) and they are still spending the money they make to buy the things ... Peace of mind and doing what God directs us to do is the most profitable life ... In my opinion ... Carry On

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[@jaycejadiel7722]

@Fabian Winston Instablaster =)

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[@jaycejadiel7722]

@Fabian Winston glad I could help :)

[@justtinkering6054]

Thank you for making these videos. I am considering maple syrup production and your channel has been the most helpful channel on KZbin.

[@Timberland-Farms]

You’ve inspired me to do maple syrup myself this year, 21 years old started with 38 taps and collected about 600 gallons of sap making about 10.5 gallons of syrup, I feel like I have a better environment in upstate New York than you do where ever you’re located, but this year my syrup has been real smoky and I did end up loosing 100 gallons of sap due to it spoiling

[@NewEnglandViews]

Great video! We loved our recent Maple Syrup trip 🍁

[@nathandelke4621]

Great job on the information that you are providing, good luck with your expansion, I appreciate you mentioning the time you have invested, in cutting wood, splitting wood, but also consider your time, time has a value, as well as the fuel, oil, chains, etc used in the operation, we understand as we started with 40 taps our first year ten seasons ago, and are hoping to boil close to 8000 taps this next season. Also here in the beautifully blessed Mi

[@justinbates9257]

This is really cool. Good for you!

[@gmsteve86]

I have a similar evaporator and last year I boiled from Friday night through til Sunday night. I did this for 3 weekends , boiling about 800 gallons of sap. This year I made an RO . Spent about $400.00. I collected about 500 gallons of sap, ran the RO for 2 days and had about 125 gallons of concentrate. I boiled that over 2 different 8 hour saturdays and a third day to finish over propane. Made 11 gallons of syrup and saved a least a cord of wood and bunch of time. I would purchase an RO before buying a new evaporator. FYI been watching you for a few years now and 7 ISO browns and a small chicken coop similar to your suburban coop.

[@josephblalock3543]

Thanks for the video, I really appreciate the work you put in to making these videos, it really shows. I think that making maple syrup is a great hobby and pastime but a poor money maker compared to selling firewood. Here split and seasoned firewood sells for $300 per cord in the summer and $400 in the winter. With just 10 cords of firewood you could be at 3-4 thousand. All you need is a chainsaw, splitter, and a 4wd truck with an 8 foot bed. I can cut and split 1 cord in a weekend, so I would need 10 weekends to get this done. Also the cost of operating my truck and chainsaw is probably about $50 each weekend so $500. I would still get a profit of around $2000. I work full time so I only have the weekends.

[@davewaggoner5525]

I just felt Maple syrup was to much labor for to little profit for me doing it and working so I much prefer to scale back and just do it for family and friends. But you have the time and desire to make it work. Great job!

[@jessica19874]

Thanks so much for the engaging and useful video, esp. the cost/ benefit analysis. Assuming one has access to more than the single mature maple I have, a friend who loves choopin' wood, and is retired and on a modest pension, sugaring would be a definite bonus for getting through most of the winter. Seriously, I'd definitely cut my shoe budget to do this. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. ,

[@topp352]

As always,a fun and informative video.You remind me of my boys.That is a compliment.Keep on with what you are doing.Let the Lord lead.

[@wendy54321]

I've never tasted real maple syrup. I would love to buy a little bottle. Only if you have any to spare to sell a bottle. I know everyone wants your syrup. God bless you and your family.

[@PaulaJoDavis]

www.sslfamilyfarm.com

[@EastMesaUrbanHomestead]

SSL Dad, great informative video of how and what not to do. Like you said don’t invest a huge amount of money initially. I believe anything we do on small scale homestead is start small and expand over time after trials and errors. That’s what I love about your channel, you do everything small scale and see what works and what doesn’t work. That Kanye for sharing your journey with me😎 and I would like to try your product let me know how I can get some please

[@Mad4saxBrewery]

I tap nut trees. I hear the syrup sells for more per ounce than maple. So if you have any nut trees tap them but keep the sap separate to increase your profits.

[@talleryet]

Instead of buying different evaporator buy a RO it will help you process your syrup so much faster. As an added benefit you don't have to cut extra wood, so that will save you time as well. (I've been making syrup for about 6 years now. I have a 2x6 continuous flow evaporator with a 30 gph RO. It works slick!! RO's are also cheaper than evaporators. Google RO bucket, they make nice cheap hobby size RO's.

[@eivindmong]

reality check for how much work goes into maple syrup. Worth every dollar!

[@anthonyseabreeze2470]

I think it's worth it. I work a full time job and find the time to make syrup I do have one helper (my son). Like you I've been slowly building up my business every year. My goal is when I retire in 6 years, this will be my income on top of my retirement salary. I have 250 taps in and this is only about 1/4 of the actual sugar maples on my 100 acre piece of land I own. My intent is to have upwards of 2000 taps in by the time I do retire. My big expense this year is I went out and bought a used but in very good condition Lapierre wood evaporator. This evaporator will boil 30 gallons of sap an hour. So in an 8 hour time frame I can boil off 240 gallons. I then store it and the day's it doesn't run I finish and bottle it on a Lapierre finishing pan I purchased a couple of years ago. I also ditched the hydrometer and switched to a hydrotherm as I find it way more accurate. It is a very expensive undertaking but these are my so to say (toy's). I don't have a big boat or expensive cars etc, and my toy's make money. I wish all my fellow maple syrup producers all the success and enjoyment this hobby brings. Happy boiling from Center Creek Farm maple products.

[@greatlakeshuntingandtracki5450]

How do you find a place to sell it?

[@charliepizzano3628]

Great video! 100% Agree with you!

[@rocket18ks]

kudos on the strong effort. on anything new there is a learning curve so good idea growing over time. and i would not wade through a foot or two of water to tap a tree, impressive effort

[@Spencersofduffield]

Whew, that was a nailbiter till the end, I thought you were going to say it wasn't worth it and then be done. My parents have neighbors who have a rebuilt & refurbished maple syrup shack they have used once in the last, probably 20 years. I'd love to buy thier woods and shack and do syrup. Someday. Great video!

[@mcdls5]

You could lease the access to the trees instead.

[@andrewsarles3520]

I think you might want to think of investing in some kind of warming pan on top! I have a stainless steel farm sink if you could find a way to rig it up to funnel sap from it through the drains I'd be willing to give it up!

[@greensnapper1602]

Most little hobbies that turn into a Business over time, Should Pay for it's self over Time !! All of mine have sir Hope yours will as well Keep your Head Up !! And keep moving Forward ....

[@rochrich1223]

If you want to get sweetener out of trees, honey bees are the way to go. If you do go that route, it changes how you value trees. For instance, pussy willow is rarely thought of as valuable unless you want the pollen from the earliest flowering plants to get your hives going in the spring.

[@trihall2273]

Excellent... Thank you Kindly.... You made me hyper intelligent

[@brodobaggins9781]

Appreciate the video

[@therebeldolly]

Thanks.

[@thomashansen871]

I suggest a home made RO filter setup, don't go for a bigger pan. I have a similar size setup as you do, but I have an RO setup that does so much work with zero effort.

[@mattschwartz915]

I agree. I built an RO system for $200 and its more than enough for 50 taps. It takes 50%-75% of the water off.

[@Kayakingoutdoorsman]

I so wanna try to make some

[@mattschwartz915]

Dude you need to make an RO system. At the scale you’re doing they don’t cost thousands of dollars! I built one for $200 and it’s good for 50 taps easy. For $400 you could make one for 150 taps. It will take at least 50% of the water off with very little of your time. I’ve been doing syrup as a hobby for a few years. Definitely get an RO system before upgrading your evaporator.

[@kenmoose1315]

Just a suggestion, Never put 200 degree syrup in any plastic container (unless you enjoy the taste of plastic]. Use only glass or stainless, galvanized, steel.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I let the sap cool down before putting it in the jugs

[@servihomestead4324]

You videos encouraged us to try to tap some sweetgum trees, but we must have been too late because we didn't get anything. Will try again next winter (or whatever semblance of winter we have here in Louisiana).

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Oh cool, you will have to keep in touch and let me know how that works out

[@nickclark2501]

I’ve got a very small operation in NH, with very old sugar maples that give me 4% sugar content. My wife and I talk about this as an oil and flour gig. We don’t have nearly enough taps for the amount of syrup we make 47 taps made 30gal this year, last year 29 taps made 22 gal. God takes care of the math. We made enough last year to cover all the startup costs and for my birthday /father’s day last year everyone pitched in and got me an RO Bucket. Check it out, I was thrilled with it!

[@salmonhunter7414]

Profitable if you do not add up your time. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[@FLPhotoCatcher]

The syrup looks good, but looks darker than usual. We use a small pan to evaporate our sap, but noticed that it slows down a lot if there is soot on the bottom of it, so maybe that's why your evaporation has been going so slow? I may order some, looks good!

[@MrDave8539]

I hung two buckets and use most of the sap like water.

[@David-fv7zg]

More sap in half the amount of time, thats a win.

[@willymags123]

I would love to buy a gallon of maple syrup from you or maybe even half a gallon if you have a website or somewhere we can order that would be wonderful looking forward to something like that from you. As always I love your Channel, blessings from North Carolina

[@benbritch4696]

You need a continuous flow pan with divided channels

[@fabiancanada8876]

Very interesting subject and thanks for your input. I think it is a smart move to start small. Work hard and get some experience. Its not efficient and if you were to calculate you $/h it would probably be 50 cent/h or something like that.. but you make some money, invest more.. as you become more efficient your $/h will go up and things will start to get easier... however,.. I still think that it would be very hard to make decent money at it. Its probably better to be e.g. an electrician and then you can just buy all the syrup in the world.. or after work just boil a little bit for yourself..

[@jamesbainton]

Check out WF Mason evaporators. They are on the cheaper end of the spectrum, and would be perfect for 150 taps.

[@banditmoon4399]

Just FYI, hot or warm syrup or any liquid product will absorb toxic chemicals such as phthalates when it comes into contact with plastics, even so called food grade water bottles. I have seen laboratory test results from various food products packaged in plastics.

[@kan-zee]

Serously....If your going into a family business / brand name...you better invest in food grade thermoplastic pipe and hose (tubing), MAPLE PIPELINE ... I have over 150 Sugar Maples...and my grandparents & parents only tapped for the family 100 trees a year......but my daughters took it over,...and they saved big bucks, time, and energy with installing a Maple sap Pipeline, they tap over 300 trees during the season...they quatrupled their profits, the first year.

[@bencote2219]

“It’s like a dollar an hour!” -Napoleon Dynamite

[@hansfreundwich8331]

I think I'll stick to moonshining. $100 a gallon for that (on the low end) and it's a lot less work and time.

[@davidbarreira3833]

but you need to remove the water to collect better, keep going and make more videos ;)

[@drippysplashn8409]

Do yall have lead in the sap aswell ?

[@Timberland-Farms]

How many gallons per tap are you getting of sap?

[@ryanbrowne4374]

Get a bigger evaporator than you think you need. It's great being done before dinner. A "modern" evaporator can't be walked away from like your flat pan. You gotta sit there and add wood and make sure everything is working properly. That goes for a 2x6 or a 6x18. Also, forget buckets and use tubing and vacuum. Lots of guys are using CHEAP shurflo pumps with great success. I've made over half a gallon of syrup per tap for the last three years running that setup. 18 gallons from 150 taps on buckets is too much work. We made 175 from 273 taps this year. My tubing and vacuum setup cost about $3.50 per tap.

[@edieboudreau9637]

Or if just making for family it will be totally enjoyed.

[@NoorMohammed234451]

What is the persevative that you ise to increase shelf life.. Thanks for such an awsome video❤️

[@SSLFamilyDad]

There is no need to add anything. If bottled correctly they will last many years

[@anthonyseabreeze2470]

@@SSLFamilyDad I agree with you, but unfortunately the Government has other ideas. You have to look into your laws. If you're selling commercially you're legally mandated to put a best before date and nutrition labels on the product, (in Canada we have no choice)

[@robertholl6925]

How and when can I buy some Maple Syrup?

[@PaulaJoDavis]

www.sslfamilyfarm.com

[@BarryB382]

If you take all the hours you work at it, you are making a few cents an hour for sure.

[@stevenlawrence9812]

Have you considered a move to the westcoast?.Bigleaf maple syrup commands $3-$400/gallon

[@stukaman1162]

No price per gallon is worth the higher taxes, leftist government, oppressive mask mandates and less freedom.

[@TheSmagzilla]

i think the cheapest thing you could do to reinvest in your operation is getting Reverse Osmosis. Most people that i know love them and don't look back. you can get into one thats likely big enough for you for 2-300 dollars and you can start small and add on if you prefer. they can run overnight and also be a fill line for the evaporator during the day. If you want opinions and to see mine and many others like it in operation, join some facebook groups like Maple Syrup Chat, Michigan ones and my group i started is Wisconsin Maple Syrup Producers. (we let in border states). While the Cinder Block arch isnt ideal it seems to be working ok for you. When i did one it cracked up and was always needing repair. You could look into adding a cheap blower but it will go thru wood quicker and burn hotter which may be bad for the blocks. Again with the FB groups there are tons of pictures of many different cookers that can be built. Good Luck and Happy Sappin!

[@MrPlthemachine]

I dont think his business is big enough for the amount of sap he has. I have 3000 taps and it is not enough yet for the smallest on the market. I made 817 gallons of syrup this year

[@mattdawson7055]

On the inside of the evaporater did you end up putting a downwards facing elbow or anything to help with drainage ?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I did not, I may invest in a new evaporator next year though

[@HomesteadingwiththeHeberts]

This year was not a good year for Maple anywhere from what I am hearing. I am in NH and it did not go well, I have talked to some guys in Canada and the same there. But overall I agree it is worth it. Especially if you have kids and are building those memories as well.

[@MrPlthemachine]

It was a good year in Québec

[@YoungbloodFamilyFarm]

Just finished my 10th year, 47 taps this season, finished 18.5 gallons right here in the Mitten. Big advice for you is a small RO system, I can remove 60 gallons of water from a 90 gallon run in 24 hours of RO ing. This with a few hundred dollar investment, lots of time saved, visit my channel and see how I operate my little system, Thanks for sharing!

[@douglaspohl1827]

Another evaporator design idea... @0:55 kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4nRaoime6uMl8k don't forget to add a little air induction @0:02 kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5vYXneplpuIaq8

[@AndreaS-oq7sw]

How can I buy some of your maple syrup?

[@audiomxr]

Where and when can we buy some?

[@PaulaJoDavis]

www.sslfamilyfarm.com

[@TheMag20]

I would invest in RO first. Cuts boiling down by 75%. Don't need a fancy one

[@jean-michellandry4876]

Search for the Ro bucket

[@jean-michellandry4876]

You Will save time and money

[@matthewwolfe7456]

How much land do you have?

[@jimlashbrook5429]

Would a small scale RO be more cost effective than a new evaporator?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

That is possible but still need an evaporator so I am not sure, eventually both would be optimal

[@jimlashbrook5429]

@@SSLFamilyDad Yb Family Farm has an RO unit that fits into a five gal. bucket. He reduces his sap by about half. Half the sap means half the time to boil and half the wood to cut and haul. I don't do syrup so I'm going by what he said. I missed your boiling this year. What happened?

[@davidkilbourne8308]

I would like to buy bottel of maple of maple syrp. how much is it?

[@PaulaJoDavis]

www.sslfamilyfarm.com

[@jeremymitzuk4055]

I didn’t catch how many trees you tap?

[@tommybarley1620]

How much is ur syrup

[@jean-michellandry4876]

You better Buy a reverse osmosis and sell some wood That you would have Burn in your evaporator insted

[@joezeigler8097]

what part of michigan are you from? i am from belding

[@kgs2127]

Howdy "neighbor" 😉. You're not far from me here in Newaygo. I formely homesteaded 15 acres in Cedar Springs (for 26 years).

[@PaulyV56]

Whitmer lets you sugar??

[@willymags123]

I clicked on the Amazon link but I cannot find the adapter

[@TheSmagzilla]

there are like 7 different kinds of threads that come on the IBC totes. make sure you know what you need. it is likely a buttress (sometimes called Coarse thread which is like 3 threads in total.) or the fine thread is what normal pipe thread (NPT but the N part stands for Nominal, Male, or Female)

[@willymags123]

@@TheSmagzilla thank you I still wasn't able to find it on the link but with the information you gave me I was able to type it in and find it thank you very much

[@gingerjen6037]

How can we buy your syrup?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I will do a video when it's available and we sell from our site

[@andrewsarles3520]

Let me know sitting in the barn doing nothing probably holds 30 gallons?

[@lechatbotte.]

Commercial production is a headache and then the govt gets involved. Better to do locally, farmers market etc. just a thought. Yes farmers rely one God first and no two seasons will be the same. Next year could be not so good. Prayers. Last year I made cane syrup with a friend hours of work we reduced it on a wood fire. Unlike your syrup you still haven’t factored in your propane costs or the fuel for cutting and hauling the wood. A business counts all the incurred costs before getting to the profit margin.

[@AndreaS-oq7sw]

Wait. 900 gallons of sap yields only 18 gallons of syrup? Wow.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Correct

[@AndreaS-oq7sw]

@@SSLFamilyDad after watching your maple syrup series now I understand why "real" maple syrup is so expensive!! But I'm definitely going to buy some of yours. Can't wait till its available. 😊😊

[@brianrice6993]

100$ per gallon Jesus that’s robbery I sell it for 50.

[@simonledoux3681]

100$ a gallon lol. No way I can buy it for 40$/gallon all year long. And I sell it for 12$ a liter. No money in maple I got 3000 taps just for fun I can’t even make 10 k/ year with it. 10 -15K taps min to make any money. It’s just about fun and drinking with friend. And you know what. Keep it that way.

[@corinnem]

As a hobby maybe but $1500 for a months worth of work would not be worth it for me. For someone else, maybe.

[@a.l.l.firewood8883]

Need to get a real evaporator first off

[@Jacklynofalltrades]

why not just sell maple water.

[@rocket18ks]

no idea who is going to pay $100 a gallon for syrup. and your syrup is very very dark which means invert sugar from too much bacteria. need better sap handling and less storage time. maybe you can get $10 a quart... but i would pass on it at $10 because it will have a bad invert sugar after taste. uv light (sunlight) helps retard bacterial growth.

[@user-ll7fv6tu7k]

$1500? No...not remotely worth it.