Canadian Organic Maple
Canadian Organic Maple is located just below the divide between the St. John River watershed and the Miramichi River watershed, amid the rolling hills of Carleton County, NB. Sandra and Gus Hargrove built the sugary on a 240 hectare crown lease in the fall of 2000, after extensive research and a feasibility study that predicted profitability based on 66,000 taps.
After a few short years of expansion, the sugary has reached a total of 67,000 taps. Hundreds of miles of lines run through the surrounding woodlot, sloping down to the sugary from 380 to 300 feet above sea level. It’s an ideal elevation say the Hargroves, while mentioning woodpeckers picking at the taps as a nuisance and the harsh winters as an ongoing challenge.
The sugary is a two story, steel-clad structure, surrounded in springtime with billows of steam from two gleaming chimneys. A third stack is the flue for the oil fired furnace that runs the large evaporator, while an outdoor wood furnace heats the 48 x 90 foot building by radiant heat in concrete floors.
Downstairs eight 2500 gallon holding tanks receive the sap. Progressively finer filters remove impurities and a reverse osmosis unit significantly accelerates production. Sugar maple and red maple saps contain from 1 to 4 % sugar, but after passing through the reverse osmosis unit, sap arrives in the concentrate tank and moves into the evaporator in an 8 % solution.
A by-product of the reverse osmosis unit is pure water, called filtrate, preferred for the periodic washing of the unit and other equipment. Speculation on possible markets for filtrate is ongoing, but remains a project for the future.
The concentrated sap is preheated through the furnace chimney on its way into a massive stainless steel evaporator, arriving in the finishing pans as a 40 % solution. The boiling point is carefully monitored and the heat turned off when the syrup reaches 66%.
Experienced technicians from Quebec helped with the initial set up and harvest in 2001, with half the syrup sold to that province. One stayed to help start the second year, but Gus and Sandra had by then found markets for their certified organic products, as well as reliable local employees. Gus mentions with some pride the four full time and thirteen seasonal jobs that have been created at the sugary.
The quality of their syrup has been consistently proven with industry awards, including a first place in the amber category at the 2003 North American Maple Syrup Council conference held in Truro, NS. This impressive competition included producers from both Canada and USA. “Winning these awards makes a real difference to our buyers and it’s important to our employees too. It’s a real motivation for the company,” explains Sandra.
About one third of production is shipped in barrels to Germany. Slightly over half goes in bulk to the USA and about 10 % is sold “value added” to Asia, in the form of small bags of maple sugar. Local sales of syrup, spread, and sugar account for most of the remainder, with internet sales from the web site (www.canadianorganicmaple.com) showing growth.
“Our focus is to produce value added products [for] large natural food and organic specialty markets,” explains Sandra. An example is maple spread, also known as maple butter. “It tends to separate,” she says, adding that a food scientist was hired to improve the consistency.
Canadian Organic Maple first certified with MCOG (Maritime Certified Organic Growers) in their initial year of operation and say MCOG is “a great local body to work with, with very supportive members who are good mentors.” They have now added another certifying body, EcoCert, to give them access to international markets.
The Hargroves worked closely with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the organic community, both very positive experiences, but they encountered significant resistance within the government. “This has been our major challenge,” they agree, commenting that they feel a large sugary such as their own is not welcomed by the forest industry in New Brunswick.
“For us, I guess we knew from day one that we wanted an organic sugary.” A non-organic sugary might be more efficient fuel-wise, but that was never an option. Sandra and Gus prefer to adhere to organic standards, using only approved sodium hypochlorite to clean the lines and tapping less heavily than a conventional operation.
The woods management has proven to be the most expensive aspect, as they strive to maintain a diverse ecosystem, but there’s no doubt that it’s been worthwhile. Their prize-winning, organic syrup now demands a premium at both the wholesale and retail level.
The Hargroves look forward to eventually reducing their work hours at the sugary, now exceeding 40 hours/week during the sap run. Both are experienced business owners, and manage to keep their other two enterprises thriving while growing the new business. Gus is an electrical engineer, whose business Monquart Enterprises Ltd. specializes in industrial firewalls, and Sandra is founder of Bath Springs, a line of natural personal products.
The Hargroves are committed to a sustainable, environmentally friendly business, producing high quality, chemical-free maple products. They hope it’s a sweet recipe for future success.
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