The Rural Voice, 1991-03, Page 30MAKING A LIVING
FROM MAPLE SYRUP
story and photos
by Jim Fitzgerald
As the days get progressively
longer and the sun warms the air in the
northern hemisphere once again, the
generations old Canadian tradition of
collecting maple sap and boiling it
down into syrup is beginning again.
For most farmers and rural
residents involved in maple syrup
production in midwestern Ontario,
making maple syrup in their bush is a
part-time job that brings in a few extra
dollars at a time of year when there is
a lull before the busy spring planting
season begins.
Most producers work intensely for
a few weeks in March and April, sell
the tasty syrup from their sugar shack,
and then stash the equipment away for
another year, but not the Robinson
family. For them, the making and
marketing of maple syrup is a full time
occupation that goes on year round
and provides them with 75 per cent of
their annual income.
Bill and Susanne and their four
young children live in St. Augustine,
an almost forgotten hamlet off the
main byways in northern Huron
County. Like all farm businesses,
they face many of the same problems
such as uncertain weather and variable
returns from the market place.
Bill, who is a fourth generation
farmer in West Wawanosh, and
Susanne complement each other in the
business. Bill handles the production
end of things, while Susanne, an
enthusiastic salesperson raised in the
city, docs the marketing. Together
they facc a host of challenges setting
up and running their operation.
For instance, a freak warm spell in
the second week of March last year
quickly ended the season after only a
couple of weeks, and they made only
half a crop. The weather this year has
them worried again. A record
breaking warm spell during the first
Running the Robinson sugar camp in West Wawanosh Township is a partnership
between Bill and Susanne, with each bringing a particular expertise.
week of February stirred the trees out
of dormancy before most producers
had begun to tap, and that may limit
production again.
But Bill, who has an easy going
manner and ready smile, quickly
shrugs off the concerns. "It's just like
any other farming," he says, "you
can't do much about the weather so
there's no sense staying awake nights
worrying about it."
The Robinsons were ignoring the
warm weather and with their six part-
time workers, were keeping to their
early February schedule. This entails
laying out their 45 miles of plastic
24 THE RURAL VOICE