Michigan Maple Syrup Association 2000 Fall Tour Sept. 23rd

Michigan’s Thumb region is the site for this years Fall tour And we are ready to welcome anyone interested in maple to take part and enjoy an interesting variety of operations, make new friends, renew old friendships, and hopefully learn something that you can take back to help improve your own operation.

This years Fall tour will start at Rick's Sugar Bush & Supply, 7750 Van Dyke Rd.(M-53) in Cass City Rick is located 2 1/2 miles north of the junction of M-81&M-53. Registration will begin at 8:30 with the tour beginning at approx 9:15. Coffee and rolls served during registration.

Rick's Sugar Bush and Supply, 7750 Van Dyke, Cass City in Sanilac county will be first stop on the tour. Rick Peters, Karen and daughter Kelsey started making maple syrup several years ago, starting with 50 buckets and a homemade 2'x4' stainless steel pan. The next year they graduated to 400 taps and a 4x10 Leader evaporator. Their operation has continually grown each year to include 1700 taps this past year boiled on a 4x15 Dominion & Grimm evaporator with a steamaway with plans for yet another increase to 2500 taps this coming year. They have been members of the association since 1997. All their syrup is retail marketed from the sugar house on M-53. Rick also became a dealer for Dominion & Grimm 3 yrs. ago and handles a full line of supplies.

Gerald & Katherine Nelson, 1189 Blacks Corners Rd. Imlay City in Lapeer County will be the second stop on the tour. The Nelsons, with the help of their children Laura & Alan, began making syrup in 1992 after visiting a neighbor's sugar bush a year before. Starting with a few old taps, a 55 gal drum, and a canning kettle, Maple fever took over. They soon purchased a Half-pint evaporator and grew to 100 taps. In 1997 they purchased 20 acres adjacent to them and from an overgrown pasture are in the process of developing a young maple stand. In the summer of 1998 they had some logs sawn and built a new sugar house which was newly equipped with a 2x6 Grimm evaporator for the 2000 sugaring season. They have no intention of progressing beyond the hobbyist level, but hope to help carry on the sugaring tradition. They have been members of the association since 1998.

Craig &Sandy Arnold, Arnold's Sugar Bush, 5514 Lyons Rd. Lum in Lapeer county, is the third stop on the tour. The Arnold Family has made maple syrup for well over 40 years. The operation was started by Craig's father Frank Arnold, when he purchased the farm with a 30 acre mixed stand woodlot in 1955. Production from about 200 taps was primarily for family and friends with sap boiled on an old sorghum pan on a cinder block arch. The original part of the sugar house was built in 1960 with a lean to for wood storage added later. Craig & Sandy took over primary operation of the bush with the purchase of a used 3x8 King evaporator and preheater in 1984. A vacuum tubing system was installed in 1995 and taps have gradually increased to nearly 400 on tubing and about 50 buckets. Craig and Sandy purchased the woodlot from his father in1998. This past winter and spring a new addition was added which doubles the size of their sugar house. A timber stand improvement plan is presently being instituted. They have been association members since 1995. The Arnold's, with the help of their two daughters Cathleen and Amanda and other family members and friends, hope to carry on the maple tradition for many years to come

Lunch will be next on the agenda, served at the West Goodland United Methodist Church, corner of M-53 and Armstrong Rd.

The Potter Farm, owned by Steve & Sue Whitman, 1395 Hadley Rd., Lapeer will be the fourth stop on the tour. The Potter Farm has been making syrup off and on since the early 1930's. It was Sue's Grandfather Duane Potter who was the original syrup maker. They are keeping the tradition alive, and have enjoyed it as a family project with Sue's parents Ray and Jean (Potter) Wildey. Time is at a premium so even though a small operation (350 taps), they use mostly tubing and a small vacuum pump to supply a 1000-gallon tank. The 3x10 King evaporator is wood fired and old, but is quite adequate for this small sugar bush. They have 250 taps at the farm, and an additional 100 taps are located at Sue's parents place northeast of La peer. Duane Potter quit making syrup around 1971, shortly before his death. Whitmans started again in 1989 with the help of the Robert Nelson family, and have made syrup every year since. They have taken the old sugar shack and added on some wood storage and replaced the original evaporator which had been sold. They started selling to friends and relatives, and soon expanded to local health food stores, restaurants, and the Flint farmers’ market. In April of 1999, the Flint Journal newspaper food columnist purchased their syrup and judged it for flavor against several locals and one Vermont brand and rated theirs # 1! In conjunction with the syrup operation the Whitmans are maintaining the Tree Farm status that Sue's grandfather started in the 40's. They sincerely hope to improve the 65 acres of woods for the future.

Nelson's Sugar Bush, Robert & Darlene Nelson and family, 4430 W Oregon Rd Lapeer will be the Fifth and final stop on this fall’s tour. The Nelson Farm is a fourth Generation Farm specializing in cash crops, hogs, wood products, and of course maple syrup. The Nelsons started making syrup in 1976 with 75 borrowed pails and an old flat pan. The following year saw the purchase of a used 3x8 king evaporator and the beginning of an extensive tubing system, which over the next several years grew to several hundred taps In 1984 a new sugar house was built, with the addition of a 4x14 king with a preheater and forced draft. The operation currently taps about 1500 taps. In addition to the farm and the syrup operation, the Nelsons also run a circular Sawmill, sawing 100,000 to 150,000 board ft. of lumber annually in custom work and to supply their molding mill, which produces flooring, trim, and other finished wood products. This part of the operation also includes 2-4000 Bd. ft. Kilns. Syrup has been marketed in a unique way, with the Nelsons hosting what is locally known as'' Sap and Slab Day" On this day as many as 1200+ people visit the farm to enjoy such activities as a petting farm, a pancake lunch w/real maple syrup, syrup making, and a sawmill demonstration. It has been a real community event. The Nelsons are doing their best to help keep the tradition alive.