Energy remains one of the largest expenses facing the maple producer. In 1979, when #2 fuel oil cost 49.5 cents/gal, wood cost $40/cord and LP gas cost 50.5 cents/gal, over 40% of cost of producing maple syrup was directly attributed to the expense of energy (Huyler and Garrett, 1979*). In other words, for every dollar spent to produce a gallon of maple syrup, 40 cents was spent on energy.

Today, these expenses have increased, in some cases by as much as 50 to 100%. Number two fuel oil can cost the maple producer 84 cents/gal, wood ranges from $60 to $75/std. cord regardless of who cuts it, and LP gas can be as much as $1.03/gal. Although trustworthy figures on the cost of producing maple syrup are difficult to obtain, it is a safe bet that energy remains one of the leading expenses. In the state of New York, Cornell University Cooperative Extension in cooperation with the New York State Energy Office have initiated the Small Business Energy Efficiency Program (SBEEP) to assist all small businesses with managing their energy expense.

Success of the SBEEP
Initiated in the 1988 production year, technicians of the SBEEP performed 15 energy surveys of which 11 received efficiency recommendations. In the opinion of the technician, the remaining four producers were maximizing energy efficiency with current equipment and procedures. Implementation of all energy efficiency recommendations would result in an average potential energy savings of $641/year per producer. This is a reduction in energy costs of over 31%. At $32/gallon of syrup, it means producing 20 less gallons of syrup per year to obtain the same profits. This would result in six less hours of evaporation at 150 gallons per hour plus less time collecting, tapping, and other labor intensive tasks.

A sample of the recommendations cited by the certified energy technician are listed below.

 Recommendation Cost and the Payback Period

Some of the recommendations require a substantial investment to implement and have relatively long pay back periods. This was designed into the program deliberately. Using conservative energy saving estimates and the highest prices for maple production equipment an estimate of the longest payback period can be determined. This calculation process should give the maple producer a conservative estimate of the time an energy improvement modification will take to pay for itself. The amount of savings and length of pay back for an individual operation is also dependent on the amount of work a producer contributes to the retrofit process, negotiation of the price with the dealer/supplier, and trade-in value of used equipment.

The type of recommendations made is dependent on the size, conditions, marketing techniques, interests, and goals of the producer. For example, the reverse osmosis recommendation was not made unless the producer request specific information on it, the operation meets certain size limitations and energy characteristics (i.e. electric power has to be available), or large savings can be obtained.

Questions About the SBEEP

Many maple producers in New York question the applicability of SBEEP to their operation since they utilize wood as the energy source. The initial energy efficiency recommendations were designed for the producers who used oil, LP gas, or natural gas. Because of the availability of energy efficiency standards, the uniformity of the fuel, available consumption information from the producer, and the ability to control the combustion process it was much less time consuming to develop the SBEEP for these producers.

However, in the future, efficiency re commendations for those operations that utilize wood as the fuel source will be developed. The lack of available in formation may result in some delay, and for accurate application of these re commendations, more complete consumption and production records will have to be kept by the maple producer. In other words, the producer will have to know the amount of wood used to concentrate the maple sap, as well as the cost in terms of dollars or time required to prepare the wood for use and labor to handle and concentrate the sap.

Conclusion
Maximizing energy efficiency is one of many aspects of the maple production facility that should be closely managed. Sugar bush management, tree tapping, sap collection techniques, and product marketing procedures should be evaluated carefully to ensure maximum profits in a healthy and expanding industry.

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* Huyler, Neil K. and Laurene D. Garrett. 1979. A Cost Analysis: Processing Maple Syrup Products. Forest Service Research Paper NE-430. USDA Forest Service, NE Forest Experiment Station, Broomall, PA. 6pp.