MSPAC Pre-Season Meeting
Saturday, January 13, 2023
Thomaston High School,
Address: 185 Branch Rd, Thomaston, CT 06787
Agenda:
8:00-9:00 Coffee and Pancakes, check-in, mingle with vendors and other
members
8:00-9:00 Hydrometer testing drop off (CT Table)
9:00-9:45 Business Meeting and Maple updates
9:45-10:00 Break
10:00-11:30 Keynote Speaker: Brad Gillian
Brad is the author of "The Boiling 101 Notebook" and will be talking about the boiling process and how to operate an evaporator. He will share tips on ways to get the most out of your evaporator and how ROs and steam-aways can affect your evaporator.
11:15-11:30 Rural Conservation & Development: Programs to support Producers
11:30-11:45 Audubon Society: CT Bird Friendly Program
11:45-1:00 Lunch $10.00 fee collected at the door. Mingle with vendors and socialize with friends while you enjoy lunch (the raffle will be held at 12:30)
12:30-2:00 Maple 101 – Bill Farrell
Are you a new or beginning sugar maker? Bill will be presenting a
workshop designed to help you produce your own high quality
maple syrup to enjoy and share with friends.
1:00-2:00 Workshops
1.) Guzzler Diaphragm Pumps – How They Work, What They Can Do and What’s New for 2024
This talk will focus on the use of Bosworth Guzzler diaphragm pumps for creating vacuum for maple sap collection including a discussion of their
advantages and limitations. We will review some of the methods maple sugar makers have used to mitigate the effect of these issues, as well as
“best practices” used to get the best possible vacuum out of the pump. The talk will introduce the new “Quad” Guzzler pump for use on up to
1800 taps and a new diaphragm with significantly improved diaphragm lifetime.
2.) NRCS / FSA EQIP and other programs to support sugar makers.
3.) Quantifying basal area in a sugarbush
Description: Joseph Orefice, Yale Forests, will cover why basal area is a valuable tool for managing a sugarbush. He will also provide a lesson on
tools that can be used to measure basal area and how to use them for management.
2:00 Adjourn
Thomaston High School,
Address: 185 Branch Rd, Thomaston, CT 06787
Agenda:
8:00-9:00 Coffee and Pancakes, check-in, mingle with vendors and other
members
8:00-9:00 Hydrometer testing drop off (CT Table)
9:00-9:45 Business Meeting and Maple updates
9:45-10:00 Break
10:00-11:30 Keynote Speaker: Brad Gillian
Brad is the author of "The Boiling 101 Notebook" and will be talking about the boiling process and how to operate an evaporator. He will share tips on ways to get the most out of your evaporator and how ROs and steam-aways can affect your evaporator.
11:15-11:30 Rural Conservation & Development: Programs to support Producers
11:30-11:45 Audubon Society: CT Bird Friendly Program
11:45-1:00 Lunch $10.00 fee collected at the door. Mingle with vendors and socialize with friends while you enjoy lunch (the raffle will be held at 12:30)
12:30-2:00 Maple 101 – Bill Farrell
Are you a new or beginning sugar maker? Bill will be presenting a
workshop designed to help you produce your own high quality
maple syrup to enjoy and share with friends.
1:00-2:00 Workshops
1.) Guzzler Diaphragm Pumps – How They Work, What They Can Do and What’s New for 2024
This talk will focus on the use of Bosworth Guzzler diaphragm pumps for creating vacuum for maple sap collection including a discussion of their
advantages and limitations. We will review some of the methods maple sugar makers have used to mitigate the effect of these issues, as well as
“best practices” used to get the best possible vacuum out of the pump. The talk will introduce the new “Quad” Guzzler pump for use on up to
1800 taps and a new diaphragm with significantly improved diaphragm lifetime.
2.) NRCS / FSA EQIP and other programs to support sugar makers.
3.) Quantifying basal area in a sugarbush
Description: Joseph Orefice, Yale Forests, will cover why basal area is a valuable tool for managing a sugarbush. He will also provide a lesson on
tools that can be used to measure basal area and how to use them for management.
2:00 Adjourn