The West Virginia
Department of Agriculture is touting the success of John Dalen’s maple syrup
business at Dry Fork in Randolph County to entice more people into the
business.
In an article the
department wrote for The Logan Banner, it quotes Dalen saying “we have better
resources than you can find anywhere.
“Compared with New England
we have better timber, better soil, more moisture, a longer growing season,
good topography.
“In New England, they have
to truck most of their syrup. Because we have nice mountains down here, I can
make it all run downhill,” Dalen said.
He started the state’s
largest maple syrup operation just one year ago.
The article says “it was a
risky move. Dalen shelled out tens of thousands of dollars to get his operation
up and running by January of 2014.
“With 19,000 taps in place
and 54 miles of tubing running from the trees to his sugar house at the bottom,
Dalen was able to produce 5,000 gallons of syrup by the time the season ended
in April.
“Eighty percent of that
was shipped off in bulk to a buyer in New Hampshire.
“Dalen retailed what was
left and sold it locally under the name Dry Fork Maple Works.”
Maple syrup demand has
been increasing faster than production in recent years, especially export
demand from countries such as Japan and Saudia Arabia, so prices have steadily
risen.
That is transforming
production in Ontario where many operations now involve heavy investments in
modern equipment and technology to make maple syrup one of the main sources of
income on many farms across Southwestern Ontario.
Operations in Eastern
Ontario and Quebec tend to be much larger, but involve large forests in areas
where there are fewer opportunities for cash-crop farming.
