One of the local non-profit organizations we support is the Foundation for Sustainable Forests, based out of Spartansburg PA. Here’s a quick description of what they do and a link to their site

“As a nonprofit land trust, the Foundation for Sustainable Forests protects and stewards over 2,300 acres of working woodlands through direct ownership or a conservation easement with a forest management component. These lands serve the community in perpetuity- supporting the rural economy through sustainable forestry and providing critical services such as clean air and water, and recreational opportunities for the public to enjoy.  As part of our commitment to the community, our properties remain on the tax rolls and support rural jobs in the sustainable timber and land stewardship industry.   ”

Visit foundationforsustainableforests.org

We’re trying something new for the 2024 season on our 3000 tap Faust Road sugar bush. The spout on the top is what we typically use, a simple 90° polycarbonate design. The bottom spout has two new features. First, the actual part that goes into the tree is shorter and barbed. Sap diffuses slowly between horizontal rings, and the outside rings of the tree have the most sap/sugar. The shorter we hammer it in the more sugar we collect. Second, the 90° turn has a radius now, which should decrease turbulence and flow/pressure loss. Personally I think the first feature will result in large gains, however I’m not convinced that the flow rate coming out of a tree is high enough to see any benefits from a curved radius. The Proctor center at UVM has tested these spouts for three years now with promising results, hopefully we can replicate this year and switch over completely for 2025! We also have a few new elbows to try with the curved radius.

One of the many projects this summer is putting our name and address on all of our barrels. We have exactly 101 stainless drums and around 280 plastic ones. We’ll do a dozen or so at a time as we empty them, anything leftover we’ll do right as we fill them next season.