GREETINGS FROM YOUR PRESIDENT

Months have passed since I last wrote that a bountiful crop of light syrup was anticipated. The crop was not bountiful for the majority of our Michigan producers. The consensus seems to be that most producers made only 2/3 of a crop but what was produced was a good flavored light syrup.

Nationally, we rank 6th in production for the 2005 season with a twenty-seven percent drop of 22,000 gallons from last year . Our total reported for the 2005 season was 58,000 gallons of maple syrup.

Down here on the southern boarder, of Michigan we are experiencing a severe drought but did receive some much needed rain in June and July from the remnants of Hurricane Dennis. In spite of the dryness, however, the new growth on the hard maples seems to be very good.

I had the pleasure of traveling to the Vermontville Maple Festival this spring and enjoyed dining on the pancake, maple syrup and sausage breakfast. I also visited the Town Sugar house that was boiling water for demonstration purposes.  With the cold weather, snow coming down and steam billowing from the sugar house, you would have thought they were making syrup. All of the MMSA members that were selling their pure maple syrup and maple value added products did a very professional job of marketing and informing the general public of maple.

I had hoped to visit the Shepherd Maple Festival , but the weather was to risky to travel there. Arnold Hammel stated that they had a good turnout, although it was very cold and snowy.

Sugar Bush Supplies had their open house, which I partook in, and it would appear that they are about 100 percent recovered from the fire that devastated their business last year.

At our May board meeting a lot of things were covered. The most discussed item was the changing of the classification of Maple operations from Agricultural classification to Residential or Commercial classification for taxation purposes. The board is strongly against this, and Ron Thomas will be in charge of a legislative fight with the help of Mary Douglass.

Dale Forrester reported on the IMSI meeting he attended in Vermont with the new concerns of Maple Syrup being clarified to lighter colors and a modification to Maple Syrup to make it thicker and presumably sweeter tasting.

We also talked about the National meeting that MMSA is hosting in 2010 or 2011. Debbi Thomas volunteered to head up putting the meeting together. Debbi will need a lot of help from members to make this event a success. If you are able to help, please contact Debbi.

The Fall Tour this year should be an excellent educational as well as a fun time for all. Terry Coleman, our Fall Tour Coordinator, with Tim Boonstra, our Host, will have the tour in the Fairview area with three exciting producers to visit, along with a 1/4 scale passenger train ride aboard the Michigan Ausable Valley Railroad. I hope to see many of you at the tour.

Tom Cook, President