r 
23 § American Agriculturiat, March 17, 1923 
Maple Sirup Organization “Coming Back” 
Producers Undaunted By Early Difficulties 
F rom the earliest times, those who 
have produced more maple sirup and 
sugar than they needed for their own 
use have followed the practice of sell¬ 
ing their surplus to customers in local towns. 
In the more remote districts the farmers 
have sold their sirup and sugar in bulk, but 
nearly always these bulk sales have been 
gathered up by organized dealers who set 
their own prices and established their own 
grades. 
This unsatisfactory situation naturally led 
the farmers to consider the problem of de¬ 
veloping a marketing association of their 
own. It is not an easy matter for farmers 
to set up overnight and successfully operate a 
cooperative marketing association. For that 
very reason it is not at all strange that some 
of these movements have either failed or have 
not, out of hand, resulted in wonderful finan¬ 
cial advantage to those who participate. It 
is a pity perhaps that cooperative move¬ 
ments cannot all become a success at once. 
On the other hand, few practical men will 
fail to understand the responsibility they are 
undertaking, and most of them fully appre¬ 
ciate that to develop successful cooperative 
marketing enterprises, whether with maple 
product or any other product, will take years 
of careful organization work, economical 
financing, and efficient management. 
The Outgrowth of Local Effort 
Growing out of numerous local attempts 
to pool and market sirup came the movement 
in the fall of 1921 to organize a more or 
less State-wide maple producers’ association. 
After many conferences and a considerable 
amount of personal work and canvassing, 
a total of 974 producers were signed up on 
five-year contracts to market their product 
collectively through a central association 
known as the Maple Producers’ Cooperative 
Association, Inc. This association then went 
ahead and equipped itself with the necessary 
machinery and supplies to handle the busi¬ 
ness. During its first season a total of over 
149,000 gallons of sirup was consigned.^ 
Unfortunately, the first year’s experience 
has not given the financial returns that the 
producers were led to expect through the 
statements and promises made by irresponsi¬ 
ble agents who helped to secure the contracts. 
As a result, therefore, of these empty and 
unwise statements, together with some in¬ 
efficient management and questionable judg¬ 
ment in financing and marketing the crop, 
it became nearly impossible for the associa¬ 
tion to function on anything like an eco¬ 
nomical basis. Situations of this kind are 
readily seized upon by those opposed to co¬ 
operation among the farmers, and are used 
in the way of propaganda to weaken and 
break down the confidence of the members. 
Much that is bad in the present situation 
of the Maple Producers’ Asso¬ 
ciation could have been avoided. 
That their first big endeavor 
could not have been highly suc¬ 
cessful may be their misfor¬ 
tune, but neither a bad situa¬ 
tion nor a temporary failure 
should detract them from their 
goal which is to build up a mar¬ 
keting enterprise which will 
make it possible for the farm¬ 
ers to sell to better advantage 
the products of their labor. 
When the maple producers 
were organized, the members 
were not required to assume 
any financial burden other 
than to pay a $10 member¬ 
ship fee and to contribute 5 
cents per gallon as a temporary 
By F. E. ROBERTSON 
working fund. Regardless of the lack of 
capital, the management went ahead and 
purchased supplies and equipment to the 
value of nearly $50,000. Nearly all of this 
money had to come from the sale of the 
sirup, and thus a charge which should have 
been spread over at least five years had all 
to be charged off against the first year’s 
crop. 
By a very crude plan of financing, so-called 
“trade acceptances” (notes payable) were 
Covered buckets keep the sap free from twigs and 
other foreign matter 
given the members when they delivered their 
sirup at the shipping point. These the_ mem¬ 
bers discounted at their local banks, in the 
main. 
Apparently the supposition was that the 
sirup would be sold before these became 
due and they could thus be paid. But, as 
the sirup was not sold at the time of ma¬ 
turity, the trade acceptances had to be re¬ 
newed for another period. The marketing 
was delayed, and again the acceptances be¬ 
gan coming mature with no cash to pay them. 
Sirup had to be sold at a sacrifice in order 
to pay acceptances which could not be re¬ 
newed. Many had to go to protest because 
of no cash to meet them. All of this caused 
confusion among the membership and some 
dissatisfaction. The association has been 
continually seeking an easy way out of these 
difficulties, but have not found any banks 
which could give them the kind of credit 
they needed. 
Plan for Reorganization 
As a last and final resort, the directors 
have now decided that unless the 974 mem¬ 
bers will themselves help to refinance the 
association through the purchase of the pre¬ 
ferred stock in the amount of about $50,000 
the whole movement will be given up and 
the equipment scrapped. Had the members 
been required to purchase stock in amount 
sufficient to pay for the necessary equipment, 
they would have to-day an investment in 
their own enterprise, and there would be 
$50,000 in the treasury of the association to 
pay up all of the outstanding trade accept¬ 
ances (about $42,000), and there would have 
been little dissatisfaction. 
The farmers of New York State and else¬ 
where are now about to witness an attempt 
of some 974 farmers to save their association 
and safeguard their future in the matter of 
developing a satisfactory market for maple 
products. 
If these men have not the necessary faith 
in the undertaking, or if they lack confi¬ 
dence in themselves, the association will be 
disbanded. The equipment will be scrapped 
for whatever it will fetch, and whatever loss 
is sustained in the dissolution will have to 
be distributed among the members. If this 
endeavor fails, many years will pass before 
they can again muster the courage to attempt 
another similar movement. But there is no 
reason why it should fail. If half of the 974 
men will lend their credit to their own asso¬ 
ciation by taking up the preferred stock as 
an investment, all of the obligations can be 
met, and they will have a going concern 
equipped to handle all of the sirup in New 
York State, and one year of valuable, if not 
entirely satisfactory, experience. The situa¬ 
tion is a direct challenge to the sincerity and 
courage of these men. They, and they alone, 
can save the situation. 
Sanitary Method for Better Maple 
Sirup 
HE maple sirup placed upon our markets 
exhibits wide differences in quality. The 
consumer who is unfortunate enough to pur¬ 
chase the poorer grades may contend that 
the product has been adulterated. This might 
be true in some cases, but in others it is 
likely that an inferior product is the result 
of improper methods of collecting and caring 
for the sap used in its manufacture. 
The best sirup is always secured from the 
early run of sap, which is secured during the 
first part of the season, while the nights are 
cold and freezing takes place at frequent in¬ 
tervals, and before any active growth in the 
tree begins. Sap produced late in the season 
contains micro-organism, which have re¬ 
sulted from the development of the new buds 
and the reawakening of the life functions of 
the trees. These micro-organisms impart to 
the sap a disagreeable taste, which is com¬ 
monly called “buddy.” It is evident that 
changes which take place within the struc¬ 
ture of the tree itself cannot be avoided, but 
there exist still other organ¬ 
isms which find their way into 
the sap after it has left the 
tree, whose action causes dis¬ 
coloration and degrade the 
sirup. These organisms in¬ 
clude various forms of yeasts 
and bacteria. 
The chemical composition of 
sap is such that it forms a 
satisfactory medium for the 
development of bacterial life 
if a suitable temperature for 
their growth exists. Thus, with 
the advance of the season, ac¬ 
companied by rising tempera¬ 
tures, the growth and develop¬ 
ment of bacteria in the sap 
will increase accordingly. 
{Continued on page 233) 
I 
