I've mentioned several times during the past that my family operates a maple syrup "business". I use the quotes because it sometimes seems morel like a family hobby than a business. But, it is a business in every technical sense of the word. My mom and dad file schedule F farm income with their 1040. The business is registered as an LLC, and we purchase and sell goods in an attempt to make a profit.
Mind you, the most we've ever grossed is about $14,0000. And production is limited to about March 1 through April 10 or 11 usually at the latest. That's why it seems more like a hobby. Maple syrup production doesn't consume every waking moment of my life.
The business is profitable. I've not looked at a profit/loss statement in about five years, but my mom and dad have handed DW and me a check for anywhere between $1,000 and $2,000 each year since we returned to the business eight years ago. That money doesn't come close to paying for the time we invest. it's well below minimum wage. But it always comes in handy from a personal finance stand point. I'll always look at our maple syrup pursuit as a business/hobby.
As a business, there's very little depreciation. The arch - the structure that holds the fire and the boiling pans, center of where the sap is boiled down to syrup, was installed 50 or 60 years ago. There are two pans that sit on top of the arch. One of them was replaced 5 or 6 years ago, and the other, the "back pan" is at least 25 years old.
We have five old stainless steel dairy bulk tanks that hold our sap prior to boiling. They are the size that would have been used on a commercial dairy farm in the '70s or '80s. The cooling units don't work anymore, but the physical structures are in fine shape, and they do a great job for us. My dad says he's never given more than a gallon of syrup ($52 current value) for any of the tanks.
There have been some major, and expensive upgrades made in the past 10 years. We've had tubing installed. What that means is that all of the trees are now connected by hollow plastic tubes that are connected to a vacuum pump. Now we don't have to drive a tractor all around the 9 acres of woods, and walk from tree to tree to collect the sap. We flip a switch, and the sap is collected for us. Of course the tubes and vacuum require their own maintenance.
We bought a filter press. The filter press does a great job of filtering and polishing the final product before it's canned. And the most recent addition is the reverse osmosis unit. The RO removes 40% of the water prior to boiling. The concentrated sap boils down much more quickly, and requires a lot less fire wood.
These three upgrades have allowed for labor efficiency. The current labor force is strictly family - my mom and dad, DW and me. And, increasingly my 12 year old is helping out.
This brings me to my point of my post. The tubing was installed 10 years ago. The expected life of tubing is 10-15 years. It's starting to need to be replaced.
There are four tubing mains, or branches in our woods. A main is its own stand-alone tubing unit. My question is, do we replace them all at the same time, or do we replace them one at a time over the course of four years? The mains aren't equally sized. One of them services more trees, or really more tap holes than the other three. One of them services relatively few tap holes, and two are somewhere in the middle.
My thought is that we replace the biggest main this year, and replace one each year largest to smallest. That seems to me the most efficient and effective way to allocate our sparse resources. There's also a lot of credence to getting the job done in one year, and being done with it.
Either way, I thing that this year it's time for DW and me to forego our $1,000 - $2,000 annual draw, and start putting some of our own skin in the game.
"Business" Planning
March 23rd, 2015 at 03:00 pm
March 23rd, 2015 at 03:30 pm 1427124601
March 23rd, 2015 at 03:53 pm 1427126015
March 23rd, 2015 at 04:34 pm 1427128478
There is a second problem, and that's a black sooty mold that grows in the tubes. That sounds gross, I know. Keep in minds that we filter the sap before it enters the bulk tanks. We boil it to 219 degrees as a matter of course to boil the sap down to syrup, and we filter the finished product under pressure before it is canned.
We also sanitize the tubes at the end of the season with a food-grade sanitizer, and flush the tubes with the first run of sap. That is, our first batch of sap at the beginning of the season is not boiled down into syrup. It is flushed through the tubes, and not used.
But, nonetheless, that mold builds up over time, and restricts the flow.
March 24th, 2015 at 05:06 am 1427173585
March 24th, 2015 at 03:45 pm 1427211908
The vacuum pump could break down, and slow us down for a day or two, but that's a completely different thing.
But, yes, it does make the most sense from a production and efficiency stand point to replace them all at once.
After the season is over, the four of us will need to discuss our options. As far as this year goes, we've produced about 100 gallons so far. An average year is about 175 gallons, and a peak year is about 225 gallons. The difference in income between an average year and a peak year is about $3,000. So, final 2015 production will play a role as well.
March 25th, 2015 at 12:05 am 1427241955