Posted on 08/29/2015 1:04:23 PM PDT by Lorianne
The scenic and narrow lane that leads to Robert Hodge’s sugar camp is surrounded by a cat’s cradle of plastic piping that draws sap from 12,000 trees. At the end of the lane, a ramshackle hut contains reverse osmosis pumps to concentrate the harvest. A stainless steel evaporator, about the size of a truck, finishes the conversion into maple syrup.
Just one thing is missing: the maple syrup.
For weeks, security guards, hired by the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, kept watch over Mr. Hodge’s farm. Then one day, the federation seized 20,400 pounds of maple syrup, his entire annual production, worth about 60,000 Canadian dollars, or nearly $46,000.
The incident was part of the escalating battle with farmers like Mr. Hodge who break the law by not participating in the federation’s tightly controlled production and sales system.
“It’s a good thing that I’m not 35, 40 years old because I’d pack up all my sugar equipment that’s movable, and I’d go to the United States — oh yes, in a minute, in a minute,” said Mr. Hodge, 68.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
You can make some sweet money there. Have you seen the price of real Maple syrup in the grocery stores?...............
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>> “And of course the maple leaf is featured on the Canadian flag as well as the red color.” <<
.
Except that the maple leaf of the Canadian flag is the California Bigleaf maple, which turns yellow, not red.
Oh well!
Which will be a kinder, more generous socialism than the stuff going down in Canada now.
Too much syrup and you are rocking the financial boat. Maple syrup might become too cheap.
They need to hire some drivers with souped up cars. Fill the cars with syrup and outrun the law out on the back roads. Yeah ..
government enforced cartels are as evil as HOA’s
BLAME CANADA
I am probably wrong on the numbers; but I think something like 100 gallons of sap is required to make 1 gallon (or less) of syrup.
So they might be just getting enough for their own pancakes.
40-50 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of syrup.
I love how Terrence and Philip were created, some Canadian TV reviewer said in print that South Park was nothing but fart jokes and bad animation. Har, such revenge!
I make maple syrup and a rule of thumb is 40 gallons yields 1 gallon.
or on a small scale, 10 gallons of sap yields a quart of syrup
All we need is immigrants doing the work that Vermonters can do.
Sounds like the socialist republic of Vermont.
"French-Canadian cuisine is distinctive and includes such specialties as tourtière, a meat pie dish that dates back to the founding of Quebec in the 1600s, cipaille (meat and vegetable pie), cretons (mince of pork drippings), ragoût de pattes (pigs' feet stew), plorine (pork pie), oreilles de Christ (fried larding bacon), poutine, a dish consisting of French fries, cheese curds and gravy (its popularity has spread across the country and can be found from coast to coast), croquignoles (home-made doughnuts cooked in shortening), tarte à la farlouche (pie made of raisins, flour and molasses), tarte au sucre (sugar pie), and numerous cheeses and maple syrup products. Staples include baked beans, peas and ham. French-Canadian cuisine also incorporates elements of the cuisines of English-speaking North America, and, unsurprisingly, France."
Source: Wikitravel
I've never tried it, but we're low-carb.
The Great White North. :)
What is “POUTINE”?
It has to be something lewd; it *sounds* like it’s something lewd.
Twinkie had to get onto some person called “Catsrus” about using naughty words. - Now, it looks like “Daffynition” will be punished with standing in the corner for two minutes & not being given a bowl of soup for supper.
At least, Catsrus hasn’t mouthed off at Twinkie. Daffynition should not out of shame either!
- Twinkie the Soup Nazi
Quebec Maple Syrup Producers is the OPEC of maple syrple.
**With support from the Quebec government, the federation has only grown in power. Quebec syrup farmers are punished for operating “outside” the cartel’s system, which is what happened to one farmer, Robert Hodge, whose entire annual supply of 20,400 pounds of maple syrup was seized because he was over the annual quota. The supply was worth approximately $46,000.
The federation says that despite the occasional misbehaving farmer, “three-quarters of our members are happy or very happy with what we are doing.” Currently, a barrel of Quebec syrup is worth more than a barrel of crude oil.**
My father's family grew up in Boston but his older sister married a man from Vermont and moved there after marriage...very close to Montreal.My Dad would tell stories of smuggling turkeys across the border (this was in the 30's) trying to avoid customs on both sides of the border.He and his older brothers used to laugh themselves silly telling those stories.My aunt claimed to have not been involved.
Yes, I have - just saw a gallon in my fav grocery store here in Michigan with a $59.99 price tag. Just a couple years ago it was $50. Gotta be that Global Warming, y’know!
Canada Ping!
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