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CapitalPress.com
Friday, February 4, 2022
People & Places
Maple syrup industry in NW future?
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
Established 1928
CRESWELL, Ore. —
Taylor Larson got the idea to
start tapping bigleaf maple
trees at his family’s Willa-
mette Valley farm in 2015.
That first winter, he col-
lected enough sap in alumi-
num buckets from two trees
to make a
few pints of
maple syrup.
It
wasn’t
fancy, but
it allowed
him to see
the poten-
tial of add- Eric T. Jones
ing another
specialty crop to the farm’s
repertoire.
“We’re always looking to
add more things to what we
do,” said Larson, who runs
My Brothers’ Farm in Cre-
swell, Ore., south of Eugene
with his brothers, Austin and
Ben. Together, they produce
organic hazelnuts, apples,
pork and bison on about 320
acres along the Coast Fork
Willamette River.
Some of the land is also
managed as riparian forest
for fish and wildlife habitat.
That allows bigleaf maples
— native to the Pacific
Northwest — to thrive on
the property.
Syrup industry?
While syrup production
remains more of a hobby
at My Brothers’ Farm,
researchers at Oregon State
University are studying
what it would take to create
a larger commercial industry
akin to maple sugaring in the
Northeastern U.S.
Eric T. Jones, an assistant
professor of practice in the
College of Forestry, is lead-
ing a federally funded proj-
ect working with several
landowners, including Lar-
son, providing equipment
and training to tap bigleaf
maples commercially.
If successful, Jones pre-
dicts the industry could
become as big as Ore-
gon Christmas trees, val-
ued at $106.9 million in
2020, according to the state
Department of Agriculture.
“I think there’s huge
potential, but we have a long
ways to go,” Jones said.
Capital Press Managers
Western
Innovator
ERIC T. JONES
Greg S. Jones
“We’re really just at the
beginning.”
Growing interest
Funding comes from a
three-year, $500,000 grant
through the USDA Acer
Access and Development
Program to help promote
the domestic maple syrup
industry.
According
to
the
National Agricultural Sta-
tistics Service, U.S. produc-
tion of maple syrup totaled
nearly 4.24 million gallons
in 2019. Almost half of that
syrup came from Vermont,
followed by New York and
Maine. Ohio, Pennsylvania,
New Hampshire, Michigan,
Wisconsin, Massachusetts
and Connecticut also pro-
duced maple syrup.
Production has been
slower to gain a foothold in
the Northwest, though Jones
said interest is growing.
“We have known for a
long time you can tap big-
leaf (maple trees),” he
said. “We see these maples
everywhere.”
A different maple
Bigleaf maples are native
along the Pacific Coast,
ranging from the north-
ern tip of Vancouver Island
south to California. The spe-
cies differs from the more
common syrup-producing
sugar maples on the East
Coast, with less sugar con-
centration in the sap and a
more earthy flavor.
It takes about 50-80 gal-
lons of sap from bigleaf
maples to make 1 gallon of
syrup, which Jones acknowl-
edged is a large number.
The project grant, in part,
covers the cost of equipment
such as tubing and vacuum
pumps to make harvesting
sap more efficient. Jones
also purchased a $5,000
reverse osmosis unit capa-
ble of removing water from
the sap to make syrup faster
than boiling.
The equipment is being
installed at places like My
Brothers’ Farm to experi-
ment with commercial-scale
production, and develop best
management practices to
establish the industry.
Larson said he has 250
trees on his property tapped
this year. Maple syrup pairs
nicely with the farm’s other
crops, he said, and offers the
chance to add value.
“The jury is still out as to
whether this will be an eco-
nomically viable enterprise
for us,” Larson said. “We’re
not betting the farm on it,
but we’re excited about the
potential.”
Unique flavor
Eliza Nelson, founder
and director of the nonprofit
Oregon Maple Project,
describes the taste of bigleaf
maple syrup as richer and
more complex than its sugar
maple cousin.
Words that come to peo-
ple’s minds, she said, include
“buttery” and “mossy,” with
hints of caramel and sweet
potato.
“It is really the taste of the
Northwest,” Nelson said. “It
is so much fun to give peo-
ple samples.”
Having grown up in New
England, Nelson was already
familiar with the art and sci-
ence of tapping maple trees
when she came to Oregon in
1996. It was part of her cur-
riculum teaching fifth- and
sixth-graders at the Arbor
School in Tualatin, south of
Portland.
Nelson established the
Oregon Maple Project in
2020, leasing land for small-
batch syrup production at
Camp Colton, an 85-acre
forested property in rural
Clackamas County.
While the pandemic
has limited some gather-
ings and school field trips,
Nelson said families and
homeschool and outdoors
groups have come to learn
about bigleaf maples and
take home some syrup for
themselves.
Last winter, Nelson said
they collected 50 gallons of
sap, enough to make 1 gal-
lon of syrup.
For most people in Ore-
gon, Nelson said making
bigleaf maple syrup is still a
AURORA, Ore. —
Facilities at Oregon State
University’s North Wil-
lamette Research and Exten-
sion Center are getting an
upgrade, thanks in part to
two large private donations.
The station received its
largest ever gift last sum-
mer — $500,000 from Carl
and Kim Casale that will go
toward remodeling laborato-
ries and expanding wireless
internet on the farm.
A $250,000 donation
from Northwest Farm Credit
Services is also helping to
build three new labs inside
the Parker House, a farm
house that was given to
NWREC by Joan and Jack
Parker in 1992 to accommo-
date field research and tech-
nical staff.
Mike Bondi, who until
recently was the station
director, said the upgrades
are necessary to keep pace
with changing technol-
ogy and the needs of local
agriculture.
“We don’t have the abil-
ity within our current bud-
gets and state budget year to
year to fund major improve-
ments like this,” Bondi
said. “Having gifts like this
dba Capital Press
Family: Wife, Katie Lynch,
and one daughter
An independent newspaper
Education: Doctorate in
ecological anthropology,
University of Massachu-
setts Amherst, 2001
hobby. However, she is bull-
ish on the industry’s poten-
tial for growth.
“Demand for the syrup is
going to be insatiable,” she
said. “There’s a long, long
future ahead of not having
enough producers to meet
demand.”
Challenges ahead
Jones said the indus-
try still faces several chal-
lenges to getting started. The
Northwest’s climate and
microclimates can be more
unpredictable, with rap-
idly fluctuating winter tem-
peratures that can halt sap
production.
Terrain is another hurdle,
as bigleaf maples may grow
on vertical slopes or other
densely wooded areas that
present access problems.
Finally,
commercial
equipment is currently not
made locally, and must be
ordered from manufactur-
ers across the country. It
will take a critical mass of
commercial-scale produc-
ers before that infrastructure
falls into place, Jones said.
Jones said he hopes his
research will mitigate the
risks and give the state’s 100
or so hobbyists the confi-
dence to expand.
“We just want to be there
to support people and get
them on the right path,” he
said.
Parker House makeover
Capital Press File
Kim and Carl Casale at the family farm near Aurora, Ore.
They have donated $500,000 for work at Oregon State Uni-
versity’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center.
makes a world of difference.
Now all of a sudden, we can
do things we couldn’t have
normally done.”
Bondi retired from OSU
last year, but was integral
in securing donations for
the station. NWREC has 12
faculty members leading
research programs on behalf
of Willamette Valley growers
to produce better, healthier
and lower-cost crops.
Bonding over tractors
It was fall 2020 when
Bondi started working with
Carl and Kim Casale.
The Casale family has
farmed vegetables and ber-
ries in the community for
generations, and Carl went
on to become president and
CEO of CHS Inc., one of
the country’s largest agricul-
tural cooperatives. He is now
a senior partner at Ospraie
Management LLC, a New
York investment firm, and
continues to manage the fam-
ily farm in Aurora.
At the time, Carl was
restoring a pair of vintage
Allis-Chalmers tractors pur-
chased by his father, Joe
Jr., and grandfather, Joe Sr.,
nearly 70 years ago. Carl
wanted to donate the tractors
to OSU, where he and Kim
both graduated and met as
freshmen.
The Casales connected
with Bondi, and after a tour
of NWREC, they had further
discussions about a larger
donation that could advance
Mike Bondi, former station
director at the North Willa-
mette Research and Exten-
sion Center in Aurora, Ore.
the station’s research.
First, the couple paid
$18,000 for NWREC to com-
plete a facilities master plan,
identifying areas of need for
investment. With the plan
in hand, the Casales made a
$500,000 contribution.
Bondi said the bulk of the
money, $450,000, will be
used to remodel two labs in
the basement of the station’s
main building, where crop
and soil samples from field
trials are analyzed.
“The building was built
back in the 1960s,” Bondi
said. “It’s all old and needs to
be updated.”
The remaining $50,000
will expand wireless inter-
net across the entire 160-acre
farm, allowing researchers to
Renovations to the Parker
House are slated to begin
soon, Bondi said.
When finished, the house
will have a soils lab, plant lab
and molecular lab.
The project’s budget is a
combination of public and
private funding, with about
$400,000 from the state and
$250,000 from Northwest
Farm Credit Services, an
agricultural lender.
Bondi said researchers
hope to move into the new
Parker House labs by sum-
mer. Faculty will then reas-
sess what is needed for lab
renovations covered by the
Casale donation.
That planning will be
done later in the spring by
NWREC’s new director,
Surendra Dara, who was
hired in January.
“I would hope they are
going to get the construction
rolling later next winter and
into 2023,” Bondi said.
TUESDAY-THURSDAY
FEB. 8-10
World Ag Expo: 9 a.m. Interna-
tional Agri-Center, 4500 S. Laspina
St., Tulare, Calif. One of the world’s
largest ag shows returns this year
to Tulare, Calif. With hundreds of
exhibitors, presentations, semi-
nars and other events, the World
Ag Expo attracts attendees from
around the nation — and the world.
Website: http://www.WorldAg-
Expo.org
WEDNESDAY
FEB. 9
Intro to Hazard Analysis Crit-
ical Control Points: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Points (HACCP) is an internationally
recognized method of identifying
and managing food safety-related
risk. Participants will receive an Inter-
national HACCP Alliance seal and cer-
tificate. Website: https://techhelp.reg-
fox.com/introhaccp2022
Horse Keeping and Land Man-
agement Masterclass Series: The
Tualatin and Clackamas Soil and
Water Conservation Districts and
Alayne Blickle of Horses for Clean
Water are presenting this master-
class series. Whether you’re new to
horse-keeping or have years of expe-
rience, this course will help you learn
ways to simplify your chores while
managing your property in a way
that benefits the entire ecosystem.
Free workshops will be held virtually
on Wednesday nights from Feb. 9 to
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Dairy .......................................................8
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Hometown: Eugene, Ore.
control irrigation and access
data from the field.
“Internet access across
the entire farm is something
our faculty have been asking
about for quite some time,”
Bondi said. “The Casale gift
will help make this possible,
too.”
George Plaven/Capital Press
Samantha Stinnett .....Circulation Manager
EO Media Group
OSU research station receives largest ever private donation
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
Carl Sampson .................. Managing Editor
Age: 56
Occupation: Assistant
professor of practice,
Oregon State University
College of Forestry
Eric T. Jones installs sap collectors on bigleaf maple trees.
Joe Beach ..................... Editor & Publisher
Anne Long ................. Advertising Director
Markets .................................................12
March 16 at 6:30-7:30 p.m. Registra-
tion id required. Sign up at https://bit.
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tina Peterson at kristina.peterson@
tualatinswcd.org
WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY
FEB. 9-12
Organic Seed Growers Con-
ference: Oregon State University
Campus. The Organic Seed Grow-
ers Conference is the largest event
focused solely on organic seed in
North America, bringing together
hundreds of farmers, plant breed-
ers, researchers, certifiers, food
companies, seed companies, and
others from across the U.S. and
around the world. Farm tours and
short courses are held prior to the
full two-day conference. Website:
https://seedalliance.org/
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
FEB. 18-19
Oregon State University Small
Farms Conference (online): Every-
thing you ever wanted to know
about succeeding as a small-scale
farmer. Website: https://bit.ly/3IA8jx9
Opinion ...................................................6
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