The amount of sap a tree can produce and be captured during a season varies depending on many variables that are not fully understood yet in the industry. As a ballpark expect individual stems (trunks) 6 to 24 inches in size without cavities to produce from 1 to 6 gallons a winter. How many frost events, how well you tap, and how often you retap are some of the many variables to become familiar with.

It takes 60 to 80 gallons of sap to produce a gallon of syrup so depending on what level of market you are trying to reach will influence how much sap and how many trees you need in your system.

If your goal is to sell a few gallons of syrup in small gift bottles at a farmers market, roadside stand, or other small venue then 25 to 50 trees might suffice. If your goal is to sell larger quantities such as with online retail or regional specialty grocers, then you will probably need several hundred, if not thousands of trees to tap to get a dependable supply.

Most commercial producers use a tubing system that connects tapped trees on a single line that drains into a tank, and sometimes directly into the facility where you are evaporating (e.g., a "sugar shack"). For a small to medium size commercial operation that sells hundreds of gallons of syrup a season you are likely going to need to tap 500 or more trees a season. To supply a retail outlet like a grocery chain expect to tap 1,000s of trees and make significant investments in procurement, processing, and equipment.

Tapping sap is done using hanging bags, hanging buckets or tubes to buckets on the ground, or with vacuum tubing systems using natural gravity or connected to vacuum pumps. In the Pacific Northwest some small commercial producers are using bucket systems, but the largest producers are using commercial vacuum tubing systems designed specifically for maple sap. While it is possible to build your own relatively low-cost pumping system with pumps like the Sureflo 4008, as you scale up in size you will likely find that the maple equipment industry has well thought out, time-tested, food safety compliant equipment that will ultimately make your efforts more productive. An example of a good small to medium-size commercial vacuum pump is the Bosworth Guzzler. Large supply companies listed on the "Equipment Suppliers" page have sales agents that can help you plan our your equipment needs.

You can get into small commercial production for under $1,000, especially if you already own useful materials like food grade buckets, freezers, a cordless drill, and other tools. However, costs can add up, especially as you scale up. For example, if you want to tap 250 trees you will need 250 spiles. Spiles currently come from the eastern sugar maple industry and average around 30 cents a piece give or take depending on the quality and features (e.g., check valves built in). If you are doing a tubing system you will need barbed tees to connect lines coming from taps to each other and to the central mainline. Tees average around 30 cents a piece. You will need tubing for drop-lines, lateral lines, and main lines. If you buy early in the season you can get a 1,000' role of 3/16" UV protected tubing for around $35, but you may have to pay shipping. You will likely want one of the helpful specialty tools for attaching spiles and tees to tubing, these can cost over $100. As you scale up costs will of course increase. A cost that will quickly become apparent is dealing with large quantities of sap. Powerful reverse osmosis machines can eliminate a lot of water from the sap, meaning more fuel saved in evaporation. If you don't evaporate sap right away you will have to have a plan to store the raw sap or concentrate after running it through a reverse osmosis machine. For commercial production this scenario likely means you will need a large walk-in freezer which comes with an electricity cost to factor in. Most commercial producers try to evaporate sap as it comes in to the sugar shack/processing area, maintaining a steady flow of sap during a run period and steady evaporation till the sap is gone. Under this scenario you may be operating from early in the morning till late at night to get the job done.

The good news is that a lot of the specialty equipment and materials can last you years if you take care of it, thus giving you a chance to recoup your investment. If you are thinking of exploring commercial possibilities make your first year a fun, low-cost, getting familiar year. That will help you immeasurably in estimating the time and costs and your potential profitability. Bigleaf maple sap food products is an underdeveloped industry with a lot of potential, but expect to spend a few years before seeing any profits.

While syrup is an obvious market, value-added products for bigleaf maple sap are practically non existent at this time. Flavored waters, fermented beverages and foods, and candies are just a few examples of what could be developed. Other angles include agritourism and riparian conservation incentives.