Maple syrup operation moved to Tosanak Recreation Area

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Fresh maple syrup slathered on to a stack of warm and fluffy buttermilk pancakes.

That’s just one benefit of what could be opportunities afforded to Floyd County Conservation after a syrup-making operation was recently donated to the organization.

“As far as an educational tool, it will be really beneficial,” said Floyd County Conservation Director Adam Sears. “That will be an exciting adventure for a lot of the youngsters in the area.”

The operation, replete with a 15-foot-wide evaporator that boils sap into syrup, was moved to a building on the grounds of the Tosanak Recreation Area near Rockford on Monday. The evaporator has the ability to make a gallon of syrup an hour.

That’s after sap is collected from the maple trees that are abundant at Tosanak.

“It’s fun for everyone,” said Sears. “There’s options to explore.”

Those options could include field trips for area students to learn about what all goes into making maple syrup and how the collection process is done in late February through the month of March.

Down the road, a pancake fundraiser could also be in the works for Floyd County.

Sears said Black Hawk and Linn County each hold a maple syrup festival for their conservation departments. Each of those fundraisers located in Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids has been drawing big crowds for more than 35 years.

Sears volunteered at the Hartman Reserve Maple Syrup Festival in Cedar Falls 15 years ago while a student at Hawkeye Community College.

“That has really taken off for that area,” said Sears. “So whatever they’ve done, they did it right for what they wanted.”

Bruce Bergland, along with several other members of a group that share an interest in maple syrup making, purchased the operation from Loran Recker at a reduced price. Bergland was first introduced to the process six years ago when Recker tapped trees on his property near Floyd.

“It got to the point where it was fun,” said Bergland.

Bergland is currently taking donations to help fund the operation, which will cost more than $10,000 once everything is up and running.

Recker said, “What I think is so great about Floyd County getting this equipment is the fact that anybody that’s interested in conservation and Floyd County Parks and Rec, they’re going to get exposed to this – primarily young people. This isn’t digital.”

Volunteers will help with collecting the sap. Bergland hopes to produce 50 to 100 gallons of syrup in the first year.

“We will bottle it and we’re going to sell it,” said Bergland. “We’re also going to be giving the volunteers syrup. That’s their payment. I love it. We use it all the time.”

Bergland is also planning on contacting Donna Forsyth with Iowa BIG North to find ways to best get their product out to the masses and garner interest in the sweet and sticky endeavor.

“I’m going to try to have them develop a marketing plan for us,” he said.

Bergland also said there could be ample opportunity for the Scouts to get involved with the operation with possibly another fundraiser.

Sears said there are large maple trees where the operation now sits and many within an eighth of a mile from the building. Sap production generally takes place in early spring.

Recker said he plans on teaching Bergland and his groups the ropes of his craft sometime in November. Recker said weather is the biggest factor when making syrup.

“You need freezing nights and thawing days,” he said.

The freeze helps circulate the sap and when it warms up the result is a constant drip of sugary nectar into a pail during peak season.

“It’s some kind of hydraulic process of nature that it actually sends water from the roots and the ground up into the trees. That sap will run anywhere between 2 and 3 percent sugar,” said Recker.

The evaporator will boil off 97 to 98 percent water or a 40-1 ratio of water to syrup. That could mean as much as 40 gallons of water evaporated from the syrup in an hour.

“When that thing is running right, apparently it just kind of does its own thing. It has pumps and all the gadgets. It’s kind of a high-tech operation compared to just putting it over a fire,” said Sears.

Nevertheless, the process takes constant supervision.

“The conservation board and staff have solely depended on outside sources to fundraise so the money wasn’t coming from the taxpayers,” said Sears. “We’ve also expressed we do not have time for staff to operate and function the maple syrup-making operation. So basically we’re relying on volunteer help.”

Bergland hopes for around 10 people to help out making the syrup in the first year. Floyd County Conservation will provide the trees to collect sap from and the firewood to keep the evaporator running smoothly.

“A few of the guys that worked with it in the past are verbally committed to helping the first couple years just to make sure it gets passed on and used correctly,” said Sears.

Donations can be made out to the Fossil and Prairie Foundation, which can be reached at 641-756-3490, or anyone interested can contact Bergland at 641-430-9915.

Bergland hopes to create his own non-profit group to solicit donations once the project has reached full steam ahead.