Mid Winter Maple Conference

The New York State Maple Producers Association will hold its annual Mid Winter Maple Conference at the OnCenter Convention Center in Syracuse, NY on January 10^th and 11^th.

The conference will feature the following workshops on January 11th

9 – 10 am

• Quality in the marketplace     —-    Mark Cannella, University of Vermont Extension
• Financial tools and strategies for maple farms   —   John Fessenden, Farm Credit East
• Food safety, microbes, and spoilage   —   Ann Vegdahl, Cornell University Food Science Extension agent
• Panel: Lessons for beginners learned from experience   —    Glenn Goodrich, Goodrich’s Maple Farm; Brad Gillilan, GIS LLC
• Sugarbush agroforestry    —   Connor Youngerman, Cornell Small Farms Program
• Sugaring in a changing climate   —    Tim Rademacher, UVM Proctor

10:30 – 11:30 am

• Maximizing the value of late season syrup    —   Alina Stelik, Cornell Sensory Evaluation Center
• Creating novel maple products with forest-grown crops    —   Ailis Clyne, Cornell Maple Program Arnot
• Principles and processes of food preservation and production   —    Elizabeth Sullivan, Cornell Agritech
• Panel: Food and food processing establishment regulations    —   Katie Howard, NY Dept of Agriculture and Markets deputy commissioner, food safety
• Patterns of non-conductive wood formation in sugar maple   —    Matt Vadeboncoeur, University of New Hampshire
• Tap timing in a warming climate    —   Aaron Wightman, Cornell Maple Program Arnot

12:15 keynote address during lunch TBA

1:30 – 2:30 pm

• Quality control in the sugarhouse    —   Ellie Palmer, Vermont Maple Sugarmakers ‘ Association
• Collective maple promotion policy research   —    Mark Cannella, University of Vermont Extension
• Getting started with fermented products    —   Bruno Xavier, Cornell Food Venture Center, Cornell AgriTech
• Panel: Utilizing equipment and best practices to make quality syrup   —    Ben Shepard, CDL; Kevin Lawyer , H2O; Devon Randall, Lapierre
• Financial tools and strategies for maple farms    —   John Fessenden, Farm Credit East
• Portable sawmills and other income opportunities in the sugarbush   —    Scott Weikert, Penn State

3 – 4 pm

• Filtering sap and syrup    —   Brad Gillilan, GIS LLC
• Onondaga sugaring traditions   —    Angela Ferguson, works with the Onondaga Nation food sovereignty program
• New product development    —   Catherine Monserrate, Cornell Maple Program
• Panel: Making and selling high quality syrup   —    Matthew Bascom, Bascom Maple; Dave Ellis, Butternut Mtn; Glenn Goodrich, Goodrich’s
• Getting density right    —   Adam Wild, Cornell Maple Program Uihlein
• Optimizing sugarbush performance through forest management   —    Peter Smallidge, Cornell Extension forester

Cost of the conference ranges from $50 – $120

To take part in the conference, register at  Mid-Winter Maple Classic Conference – New York State Maple Producers Association