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roducers . t. w V 13! dktrietsacross Ontario. ‘ I Robinson. president of the On- ‘ on maple cers asso- ciation has been ' for all ears. Am the es t he seen are decreasmg number oiproducers. ' “We have about 1.600 to 1,700 pro- I ducers now where 20 years ago we had about 2.600. But we have about the same amout at tres. It's the technology that’s improving." ‘ He said the maple syrup industry is very precarious because of its de- pendency on the right weather condi- tions for success. The season begins inlatewinter, andnmsfortourtosix _ weeks. “The northeast part of North America is the only area in the world that has maple trees (for syrup). We have the world market. It's the com- bination of the climate and the four' ' seasons," he said. What's the recess of making the syruyp? The irst step is to collect the sap from the trees to the sugar house when the weather warms and the sap runs. The ratio of 53 to syrup [5 about 40:1. The sap is 'u, hare y sweet and colorless. -â€"â€" __ . still coun r”) THE END PRODUCT â€" Mark Crinklaw, RR 4. London. shows maple syrup. Mr. Crinklaw has been in the maple syrup industry for 36 years. Southwestern Ontario producers met Thursday in Lambeth The flow of sap is very unpredictâ€" able. The best sap runs usually occur after a night frost followed by a sunny day of about 5 degrees. He said most trees have one, two, or i'TiJ Photo), three taps, depending on their 3‘26. Once in the sugar house. the excess water is taken out of the sap. "This has been the m ting on nature one time this rocess was accom- plished by bo' 'ng. Now it is done with a reverse osmosis machine.” This machine filters the smaller water molecules, holdin back larger sugar molecules and ves a ma 1e concentrate. This concentrate is en processedthrough an evapoâ€" rator and filtered. “It’s the heating process which gives the syrup) its uruque flavor and color,”Mr.Ro inson said. Different grades of syrup are made depending on theefluality of sa and how long it’s boil and star . . Light syrup is processed as fast as possible. Heavier syrups are used for cooking and flavouring food prodâ€" ucts. ' Mr. Robinson said the average number of taps on a maple syrup farm is 1.000, although there are some hobby farms with only 50 to 100. “There are a lot of producers who have other operations on their farm.” He said he enjoys making syrup despite its dependency on unpredict- able weather conditions. “I’m not . complaining. it‘s a lot of work, but you get out of it what you ut in. The last two or three years ave been good years.” The syrup is marketed in bulk among producers who package it into smaller quantities for individuals. “Here :n Ontario it‘s all sold at the farm gate. Quebec has the market of the large supermarkets here in Onta- :io because they have a coop to disâ€" tribute it. I‘hey have the most trees.” 3: ‘Mr Robinson.