Getting Started

Table of Contents

1. Maple Syrup Reference Manual
2. Maple Tapping
3. Sap Collection
4. Production
5. Storage
6. Packaging and Marketing
7. Labour Requirements

Regardless of the scale of your maple syrup operation, the basic principles of collecting and evaporating sap have remained essentially the same for centuries. However, with modern techniques and equipment, the industry has grown and become safer and more efficient. Deciding which level of technology is right for you is an important first step in getting started and this, in turn, will depend on the amount of time and resources you have available.

A small operation may only require the efforts of family and friends during the sap-run season, and expenses will be minimal. Larger scale operations will demand a longer-term commitment and better trained personnel with much of the work taking place before the season begins, such as hiring and training workers, coordinating sap collecting and preparing and testing equipment.

After the production season ends the focus shifts to other aspects of the maple syrup production, such as proper storage, bottling and labelling, advertising and distribution to market outlets. The following links will help you establish and operate your maple syrup business.

Maple Syrup Reference Manual

Maple Syrup Reference Manual

Starting a Food Processing Business

North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual
(Contact Promotional and Marketing Department for ordering details)

Maple Tapping

How to Tap Trees

A Primer on Sap Flow

Sap Collection

Sap Collecting

Bucket and Tube Sap Collection

Production

Food Safety for the Production of Maple Syrup

Filtering Maple Sap Fact Sheet

Water Quality

Dry Weather and its Effect on Maple

Storage

Storage and Evaporation of Maple Syrup

Packing and Storing Maple Syrup

Foodland Storage Tips

Packaging and Marketing

Packing and Storing Syrup

Packaging and Labelling Your Product

Labour Requirements

Employed Labour Force Estimates for Selected Agri-food Industries, Ontario, 2006 and 2007 ('000)

Economic Assessment of Future Labour Demand Needs in the Ontario Agri-Food Sector

Safe at Work Program in Ontario

Human Resources