Eastern

This Local includes the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry, and the Township of Cumberland in the amalgamated City of Ottawa.

Gary Ivens

APPLE HILL — With the possible exception of the ponies at the Ford Motor Company, Gary Ivens had no prior connection to farm life — let alone maple-syrup making — when he married into the Munro family more than half a century ago.

But the woods at the ancestral Apple Hill homestead of his new bride, Jean, captured the attention of Gary, whose early business sense was stoked as a parts department manager at a car dealership. First tapped by the Munro clan around 1850, the 400-acre sugarbush had fallen out of production sometime in the 1940s.

It was a neighbour and friend of Gary’s, Barry Warwick — a regional forestry manager with the Ministry of Natural Resources — who first suggested reviving the operation. The two of them relocated the dilapidated sugar camp while walking through the property. Around that same time, in 1969, Gary attended his first meeting of the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers’ Association in Green Valley — then headed by Ken McDonald of South Stormont.

“I only wanted to see what it was all about,” recalls Gary of the early OMSPA session, though it wasn’t too long before he was drilling 1,000 spiles by hand, hanging buckets and getting the old camp back into shape.

‘We had an old evaporator there, and we wanted to try it out without spending a lot of money,” remembers the longtime OMSPA director (since 1971). “We washed and cleaned up everything the best we could, and we got one gallon of syrup an hour that first season. In our third year, we pretty well doubled the size of the camp and got up to 2,000 taps and we kept going from there.”

‘Maple Ridge Farm’ would go on to routinely make 10 gallons of syrup per hour from 4,000 taps after various improvements undertaken in the intervening decades. Gary counts three evaporators and three complete tubing replacements among the upgrades achieved through the years. The switch to a vacuum tubing system was made about 20 years ago, and he agrees the deployment of that technology has been the most significant change for Ontario’s maple sugar industry as a whole in the last 50 years.

Along the way, the operation also weathered the infamous Ice Storm of 1998, a “nightmare” that inflicted about 70% on the sugarbush, but now fully recovered. “We’re overdue for another one,” Gary warns.

The syrup of Maple Ridge Farm was sold far and wide, in fact, around the world. While Gary did supplement his income for a time by raising and selling bred dairy heifers, maple syrup had become his sweet, sole mainstay by the early 1980s. “We rented the farm out, and I just did maple syrup, day and night, year round,” he says, quickly disabusing the interviewer of any notion that the maple syrup business is limited to early spring. “Christmas was very big for us. I would work 15 or 20 hours a day, and then I had to deliver it!” he exclaims.

The entrepreneur put his marketing skills to work lining up retailers not only local  — but all over Canada, and even a single location in Dallas, Texas. The team at Maple Ridge Farm made regular delivery trips to supply grocery chains in southern Ontario, within urban centres of Burlington, Toronto and Newmarket. “We would set up a booth inside a store, and we serviced them every month or so, stock all the stores up,” he says. “You have to find your own way, and I did find my own way; we did this for many, many years.”

A connection with the broader international market was forged when a global hedge fund ordered syrup in custom bottles — specially etched by an artisan Gary knew in Glen Walter —  to give as gifts to clients in 66 countries.

“They came back the next year for the same thing,” he marvels. At the same time, all of those gift bottles shipped around the world created a global appetite for Maple Ridge Farm products. The operation suddenly found itself fulfilling online orders all over the planet. “I was shipping a lot to Australia, everywhere in the world,” Gary says.

The international theme continued when Gary and Jean sold the business to an immigrant from China two years ago. The sprawling farmhouse where Jean grew up — with its walkout basement where Gary would store drums of maple syrup — the home where the couple raised a son and a daughter, has passed out of their hands now, along with the sugarbush. The couple have relocated in retirement to Beaver Glen Estates in Long Sault.

But guess what? Gary has noticed more than 50 maple trees on their two-acre lot. A new sugar camp is nearing completion in the Ivens’ back yard. He’ll be ready to go this spring.

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Gary Ivens

APPLE HILL – À l'exception peut-être des poneys de la Ford Motor Company, Gary Ivens n'avait aucun lien avec la vie agricole – a part de la fabrication de sirop d'érable – au moment où il s'est marié avec la famille Munro il y a plus d'un demi-siècle.

Mais la forêt de la propriété ancestrale d'Apple Hill de sa nouvelle épouse, Jean, ont attiré l'attention de Gary, dont le sens des affaires a été développé en tant que directeur du département des pièces chez un concessionnaire automobile. Exploité pour la première fois par le clan Munro vers les années 1850, l'érablière de 400 acres n`était plus en production aux environs des années 1940.

C'est un voisin et ami de Gary, Barry Warwick - un gestionnaire forestier régional au ministère des Ressources naturelles - qui a été le premier à suggérer de relancer l'exploitation. Les deux ont déménagé la cabane à sucre délabrée à cause du déménagement. À peu près à la même époque, en 1969, Gary a assisté à sa première réunion de l'Association des producteurs de sirop d'érable de l'Ontario à Green Valley, alors dirigée par Ken McDonald de South Stormont.

"Je voulais seulement voir de quoi il s'agissait", se souvient Gary à propos de la première session de l'OMSPA. Il n'a pas fallu longtemps avant qu'il perce 1 000 entailles à la main, suspende des seaux et remette l'ancien camp en forme.

"Nous avions là-bas un vieil évaporateur et nous voulions l'essayer sans dépenser beaucoup d'argent », se souvient le directeur de longue date de l'OMSPA (depuis 1971). «Nous avons tout lavé et nettoyé du mieux que nous pouvions pour ensuite obtenir une production de un gallon de sirop par heure à cette première saison. Au cours de notre troisième année, nous avons pratiquement doublé la taille du camp et avons entaillé jusqu'à 2 000 entailles et nous avons continué à partir de là. "

« Maple Ridge Farm » produisait régulièrement 10 gallons de sirop par heure à partir de 4 000 entailles après avoir exécuter diverses améliorations au cours des décennies qui ont suivi. Gary compte un remplacement de trois évaporateurs et trois renouvellements complets de tubulures parmi les améliorations réalisées au fil des ans. Le passage à un système de tubulures sous vide a été fait il y a environ 20 ans passé, et il convient que le déploiement de cette technologie a été le changement le plus important pour l'industrie acéricole de l'Ontario dans son ensemble au cours des 50 dernières années.

En cours de route, l'opération a également résisté à l`infâme tempête de verglas de 1998, un « cauchemar » qui a détruit environ 70 % de l'érablière. Celle-ci s'est maintenant complètement rétablie. "Nous sommes due pour un autre verglas", prévient Gary.

Le sirop de Maple Ridge Farm était vendu partout dans le monde.  Alors que Gary a supplémenté ses revenus pendant un certain temps en élevant et en vendant des génisses laitières de race, le sirop d'érable était devenu son seul et unique pilier au début des années 1980. «Nous avons loué la ferme et je n'ai fait que du sirop d'érable, jour et nuit, toute l'année», dit-il, désabusant rapidement l'intervieweur de toute idée selon laquelle l'activité acéricole est limitée au début du printemps seulement. « Noël était une très bonne période pour nous. Je travaillais 15 ou 20 heures par jour, et puis je devais livrer nos commandes ! S’exclame-t-il.

L'entrepreneur a mis ses compétences en marketing à profit pour recruter des détaillants non seulement locaux, mais partout au Canada, et même dans un seul endroit à Dallas, au Texas. L'équipe de Maple Ridge Farm effectuait régulièrement des livraisons pour approvisionner les chaînes d'épicerie du sud de l'Ontario, dans les centres urbains de Burlington, Toronto et même Newmarket. «Nous installions une étagère à l'intérieur d'un magasin que nous ravitaillerions à tous les mois environ, pour chaque magasins», dit-il. « Vous devez trouver votre propre chemin, et j'ai trouvé le mien ; nous l'avons fait pendant de nombreuses années.

Une connexion avec le marché international plus large a été forgée lorsqu'un fonds spéculatif mondial a commandé du sirop dans des bouteilles personnalisées - spécialement gravées par un artisan que Gary connaissait à Glen Walter - pour l'offrir en cadeau à des clients dans 66 pays.

« Ils sont revenus l'année suivante pour la même chose », s'émerveille-t-il. En même temps, toutes ces bouteilles-cadeaux expédiées dans le monde entier ont créé un appétit mondial pour les produits de Maple Ridge Farm. L'opération s'est soudainement retrouvée à remplir des commandes en ligne partout sur la planète. « J'expédiais beaucoup de sirop en Australie, et partout dans le monde », dit Gary.

Le thème international s'est poursuivi lorsque Gary et Jean ont vendu l'entreprise à un nouveau canadien de provenance de chine il y a deux ans. La vaste ferme où Jean a grandi – avec un sous-sol de sortie directe de l`extérieur, utiliser comme entrepôt des barils de sirop d'érable – la maison où le couple a élevé un fils et une fille, est désormais vendue, ainsi que l'érablière. Le couple a déménagé à Beaver Glen Estates à Long Sault pour une retraite bien méritée.

Mais devinez quoi ? Gary a remarqué plus de 50 érables sur leur terrain de deux acres. Une nouvelle cabane à sucre est presque terminée dans la cour arrière des Iven. Il sera prêt pour la prochaine saison.

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Newsletter/infolettre du local Eastern - June 4, 2021

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Hello membership, yes we haven’t met or chit chat for a little bit. So let me bring you up to date on some of the latest eastern news.

Bonjour à tous nos membres, oui, nous ne nous sommes pas rencontrés ou n'avons pas bavardé depuis un petit moment. Alors laissez-moi vous mettre au courant de certaines des dernières nouvelles du local Eastern.

And yes what a different season we had. Yes it was cold start up and then a warm spring, the sap was running but low on sugar content. If the sap was not running the buds were out giving off bad maple syrup flavors at the next run. In all prospect the 2021 harvest ended up being between 40% to 80% of a full crop depending on the region, maple bush or weather. And yes our bucket folks did not enjoy the greatest season. As the older maple syrup producers used to say, you can’t get three good season in a row without a poor one in between…and the last three were excellent. So it was expected to get a not so good season just like we did in 2012. So for now, let see what activities we can entertain for 2021 and then hoping we can have a good 2022 season.

Et oui quelle saison différente nous avons eue. Oui, c'était un démarrage abrut et froid, puis un printemps chaud. La sève coulait mais sa teneur en sucre était faible. Si la sève ne coulait pas, les bourgeons étaient sorties lors de la prochaine coulée et dégageaient de mauvaises flaveurs de sirop. Dans toutes les perspectives, la récolte 2021 se situerait entre 40 % et 80 % d'une récolte complète selon la région, l'érablière ou la météo. Et oui, nos acériculteurs avec chaudières n'ont pas profité de la meilleure saison. Comme le disaient certains anciens acériculteurs, on ne peut pas faire trois bonnes saisons de suite sans une année pauvre en récolte… et les trois dernières étaient excellentes. On s'attendait donc à ce que la saison ne soit pas très bonne, comme nous l'avons vue en 2012. Alors pour l'instant, voyons quelles activités nous pouvons organiser pour 2021, puis espérons que nous pourrons avoir une bonne saison 2022.

Welcome to our new members.

Please be informed that we currently have 9 new members for this year. Welcome to our local and we will be looking forward to meeting you at our info days.

Virtual summer tour

               Stay put for July 22nd , an all day virtual tour on zoom including our agm. The enews and mainline will have the agenda and schedule. Do not forget to read them.

Fall in love / L’amour de l’érable en couleur

               Anne is the contact (afzoeller@gmail.com , 613-347-3204)

               Date:sept25th oct3rd

               Anne will be sending out  an email soon. For your own Advertising get ready ahead of time.

Info day

Usually the 3rd weekend of November (not official yet but hopeful to be in person on the 20th of November)

Agenda to be decided this summer

Should be at Sandroad sugarbush.

Anybody who has any subject of interest, please pass it on asap so we can try to include it in the agenda.

Tent caterpillar and Gypsy moth

               As this invasion is fast approaching down from the west and north, we Eastern landowners at one point may have to address this invasion. Quinte and Lanark locals being victim of this currently, you may want to start looking at your bush for any presence of these ramping creatures.

Contact Steve Needham and Frank Heerkens if you want some info. You may also want to prepare about how to get your bush sprayed once and if these creatures show up.

You could also attend the following webinar:

June 10, 2021 at 7PM – the Eastern Ontario Model Forest is hosting a Gypsy Moth webinar. They will be reporting on the current status and provide some insights into what can be expected across the region this summer. The link to register is Gypsy Moth ver. 2021 (ontariowoodlot.com).

Methionine and asparagine detection strips

Provincial board is currently moving on with the buddy sap analysis review. Stay out as a team is tentatively being put together to develop a verification strip to test if your sap is buddy. More news to come as we would try to have test strips ready for season 2022. Stay put we could be asking for producers to test those strips and report findings.

Strategic review at the provincial

Algonquin program for maple syrup production certificate in the agricultural programs.

Structrural review, we are currently at reviewing ready for the AGM this summer. This would be July 22nd early morning session.

Bilingual bylaw, again this will be voted on at the agm.

Web local pages

               Completed at the provincial wide level for all locals

Have a look at eastern for what is hot and new. Especially  (sorry if this feels like a conflict of interest because I have one item for sale) for the classified section.

               Instagram and facebook

                              Please by any means you could start sharing-post our web eastern page. This would be great to start recruiting new-younger membership. Would be great for succession-upcoming membership too.

               Tik-tok

                              Should we start thinking about this social media, please pass your thoughts to myself and Anne Zoeller.

               Educational videos, if you know of any please tell us as we may share, point or even link to utube space.

Instagram and facebook

               Where do we go from here. We will be developing on this front. Again if you have any thoughts, please contact me or Anne Zoeller.

Potential late fall training seminar (please note that this is in discussion only at this point).

               More news to come but it will be targeting the 613-maple-syrup group and backyarder groups.

               Potential new members benefits…we will need to identify what we can do.

               This training seminar will also be opened to our current Omspa membership.

Could follow up with Q&A tasting & judging seminar later in the winter season.

Stay put we will come back with further news if we pursue this.

Other links of interest. (you may have to select the translate button if necessary).

https://www.laterre.ca/actualites/foret/la-patate-chaude-de-la-hausse-des-contingents-dans-lerable

Si vous avez des questions ou commentaires, n`hésiter a me les faires parvenir.

Merci, many thanks,

Jules Rochon

613-446-5670.

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SUBJECT:  Fall In Love With Maple-L'Amour de L'Érable en Couleur - June 3, 2021

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Hello everyone,

I hope this message finds you enjoying the recent lovely weather.

With the cancellation of the last two Maple Weekends, we have turned our focus to another event to showcase our maple syrup producers. You will see some information about it in the upcoming Mainline, and I hope to add to that here.

The Fall In Love With Maple - L'Amour de l'érable en couleur event will emphasize the beauty of the autumn colors in the Maple forests. We hope to take advantage of the warm days before winter sets in to welcome visitors to our sugar houses. They will get the opportunity to see the forest, learn about maple syrup production and purchase maple products directly from the producer. Since we won't be producing syrup at this time of year, it might give the visitors a good chance to interact and ask questions.

The event will run from September 25 to October 3, which gives ample time for visitors to see the best of the colors and perhaps return with friends.

For those interested, the cost will be $50.00. A profile of your sugar operation will be available on the upcoming Fall In Love With Maple website, and a map will show your location.

If you would like to participate, please let me know by June 30th via email at afzoeller@gmail.com and, as usual, the earlier your profile is available the better for website views.

We hope that this becomes a favorite Fall outing for the public and leads to many repeat visits to our OMSPA producers.

Enjoy the sun,

Anne

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New event is back on for 2021:

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Fall in Love with Maple (L'amour de l'éable en couleur) -  fall coloured tour for the first weekend of October. Please contact  Anne Zoeller at for more information.

First tapping Event (COMPLETED):

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Hosted at “Onthebend Sugarshack”. See video posted on our Instagram account.

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Summer Virtual Tour:

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Dates:  July 20, 21, 22, 2021 @ 7:00 pm each evening

Proposed Early Agenda suggests:  

• AGM

• Producer Highlight

• Supplier Presentation

• Prestation Host

• (and more)

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Membership renewal for 2021.

Please note that it will be difficult to physically renew your membership because there is no physical in person info day this year. Therefore this leaves us with some other options. Note that you now can renew for up to 2 years! If you know of someone who wants to join, please pass on the info:

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1.      You can renew online at the omspa.ca site:  https://www.omspa.ca/become-a-member

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2.      You can also call our executive director John Williams who will be more than happy to help out. 

          Email at: admin@ontariomaple.com or call at: 613-258-2294

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3.      You can call one of our EOMSPA Directors from our web page for assistance:

         

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PLEASE NOTE:  AS OF MARCH 31ST, CURRENT MEMBERS WHO HAVE NOT RENEWED THEIR MEMBERSHIPS WILL CEASE TO RECEIVE NEW ASSOCIATION INFORMATION