Analysis of production practices and demographic characteristics of the Ohio maple syrup industry

Ohio ranks as the fifth highest volume producer of maple syrup in the United States, contributing on average $2.5 million to Ohio's economy. Despite over 90 years of service by Ohio State University (OSU) Extension, little information is available concerning the Ohio maple syrup industry. Initial surveys conducted at OSU Extension maple syrup education programs revealed that 82% of attendees relied on OSU Extension programs to stay current with maple production practices, further justifying the need for information on production practices and producer demographics. In 2004, a detailed survey was sent to all known Ohio maple syrup producers with the goal of elucidating relationships among production factors and demographic characteristics. Eighty-seven percent (n = 909) of the surveys were returned, with 68% (n = 620) of the returns indicating they were active maple syrup operations. Based on these surveys, the maple syrup industry in Ohio is best characterized as a very traditional enterprise of small, second generation, family-owned sugarbushes, that predominately utilize bucket collection systems. However, there are important differences among demographic groups. For example, chi-square analyses suggest that Amish producers in the state have significantly larger sugaring operations (>250 taps), utilize bucket collection systems rather than more advanced tubing systems, and are younger than non-Amish producers (P < 0.05). Amish producers are also less likely to attend OSU Extension programming than their fellow non-Amish producers, while those older (> 53 years of age) non-Amish producers with large operations utilizing tubing collection systems were more likely to attend (P < 0.05). These relationships suggest that current OSU Extension programming is adequately serving non-Amish maple syrup producers; however, different approaches are likely needed to improve outreach and engagement of the underserved Amish maple syrup producers and the smaller (< 250 taps) non-Amish sugaring operations.