Officials visit maple farm for ceremony
THURMAN, N.Y.>> Jim Galusha has some of Toad Hill Maple Farm’s most important jobs.
He keeps the coffee pot filled and takes guests on tractor- drawn wagon rides through the woods during Thurman Maple Days open house weekends, which begin this Saturday.
Galusha’s son, Randy,
started and runs the business with his wife, Jill, so “Grandpa” Jim helps out however he can.
“Most anything that there’s not a lot of work involved with,” he joked.
State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball, joined by area state legislators, visited the farm Friday for a ceremonial tree tapping to get the season under way. But many producers, thanks to mild weather, began collecting sap in January and have already collected at least half their anticipated crop.
Ideal conditions are warm days, in the mid 30s to low 40s, and cold nights. This variation builds up and releases pressure inside trees that makes sap f low. However, weather has fluctuated drastically from almost 70 degrees to the chilly teens the past few weeks, and temperatures are expected to nosedive into the 20s again thisweekend. So instead of steady production, the season has been marked by a series of starts and stops.
“It’s either been too warm or too cold,” said Dave Campbell of Salem, Upper Hudson Maple Producers Association president. “It looks like it’ll be the middle of next week before it thaws out again. This could end up being one of the longest seasons ever. We started on Jan. 23. If you believe the longrange forecast it could get into the first part of April.”
New York is the nation’s second-leading maple producer behind Vermont. Maple is a $25 million industry in the state, contributing greatly to rural economies. “We’re off the beaten path so when we have an open house we need to do things to attract people here,” Randy Galusha said. “This building (a new timber frame sugarhouse) is the first step.”
The handsome structure has high cathedra-llike ceilings with arched supports. A federal grant allowed Galusha to replace an oil-fired evaporator, which converts sap to syrup, with a new high-efficiency, wood-fired model and a reverse osmosis machine that reduces sap’s water content prior to boiling. Concentrated sap boils faster, which saves time, fuel and money.
During Thurman Maple Days, guests can see how syrup ismade, sample maple creams and candies, and have a pancake breakfast at nearby Valley Road Maple Farm. This Saturday only, the annual Thurman Maple Party starts at 4 p.m. at Thurman Town Hall and lasts till everyone is served. A fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, it starts with a buffetstyle dinner and is topped off with jackwax, a sweet dessert made with syrup, cooked down to a taffylike consistency served over shaved ice. Local musicians provide live entertainment. The cost is $10 for adults, $5 for kids 6-11, and free for those under 5. Thurman Maple Days are held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through March 26.
Upper Hudson Maple Producers, including several Saratoga County sites, will host open houses on March 18-19 and March 25-26, although Campbell’s Mapleland Farms in Salem is welcoming visitors this weekend, too, serving pancakes from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Ball praised the contribution New York’s familyrun maple farms make to agriculture, the economy and their communities. Maple is the first agriculture crop of the year.
“We have this interest in local food,” he said. “People come out, seek out these little rural towns and find their way up a dirt road. At the end of that dirt road they find something really special. They get to have eye contact with the producer and learn about their food system. It’s a really great thing.”
For information about Thurman Maple Days, go to www.thurmanmapledays.com. For information about Upper Hudson open houses, go to www.upperhudsonmaple.com.