A24-Unc«ft»f Farming, Saturday, February 22,1992 ]VJj|rk ICOriTIJIII
(Continued from Page A 1)
and smaller plastic containers that
he markets under the Komman’s
Maple Syrup label. These are sold
at local fairs and by word-of
mouth.
Mark produces about 250 gal
lons of maple syrup within a month
to one and a half month period.
Because the syrup keeps indefi
nitely, Marie is able to sell the syr
up during the following months
when he isn’t busy in the woods.
When the maple syrup is run
ning, Mark hires two to three guys
to work four hours daily to collect
the syrup from the 950 taps. The
syrup most be taken to the sugar
house immediately for processing
or bacteria will begin to grow.
During the tapping season,
Mark or his father need to spend
about four to five hours in the
sugar house processing the syrup.
Since Mark was first exposed to
tapping maple syrup, his know
ledge of the maple industry has
grown.
He knows that hard maple trees
work better than soft maple. He
annually taps syrup about Febru
ary 10 with a gas-powered drill.
A bucket is attached to the tree
and the sap runs into the bucket.
“It depends on the weather,”
Mark said, “but I normally gather
one-half to four gallons daily from
a tree.
He carries the sap to a sugar
house where it is placed in a stor
age tank that gravity feeds into an
evaporator. It is boiled to the con
sistency of maple syrup and fil
tered twice to remove impurities
before it is heated to 180 degrees in
a stablilizer.
To help promote maple syrup
and offer a different product, Mark
purchased a cotton candy machine
and a maple syrup machine. At
Fairs, his maple cotton candy is a
Mark places a tap In one of the trees that he rents. An
average tree has 25 taps to catch that maple syrup.
CimarronVß is a fast growing, winterhardy alfalfa that
produces leafy, fine-stemmed hay. And this excellent
variety delivers proven resistance to 13 of the major
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You can depend on CimarronVß for higher yield,
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big hit.
“It’s a little messy to make, but
people really like it,” Mark said.
The maple syrup machine
enables him to make maple candy
leaves and hard candy that he sells
in 'A to 1-ounce sizes. Maple
cream is another unique item that
Fairgoers enjoy.
“Nuts give the maple cream an
entirely different flavor,” Marie
said.
Mark has learned to develop
better syrup than he had when he
first began his business. So much
better that he said, “My syrup
absolutely tastes better than store
bought. I couldn’t eat any other
kind.”
He credits this upgrade in syrup
from boiling the syrup faster and
his purchase of a new evaporator.
“I like the producing end and
working outside,” Mark said. “In
the beginning, I did not really plan
on getting bigger, it just kind of
happened.”
But Mark does not want his bus
iness to increase much more
because he plans to attend Butler
Community College for two years
before transferring to Penn State as
a forestry major. While in college,
he plans to continue the maple syr
up business.
Mark also works on a dairy
farm. “It’s more demanding
because it’s seven days a week, but
I really like it,” Mark said.
Mark is the first member from
his FFA chapter to receive a Stale
Star award.
“1 never figured I’d get this far. 1
was just hoping for a Keystone
’ degree but this is great,” Mark
said.
Mark is a member of the North
western Maple producers. He is a
member of Linesville First Baptist
Church. He lives with his parents
Tom and Joanne Korman and has
|SeedW*y
Mark stands in front of his sugar house used to process maple syrup that is mark
eted and sold under the label Kornman’s Maple Syrup.
an older brother and sister,
Mark said his whole family is
proud of his accomplishments. His
dad works with him on a daily
basis and his mother brings in the
sled and helps in other areas where
PSU Dairy Club Youth Judging Rules Listed
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) Those who are interested
in competing in the Penn State
University Dairy Science Club’s
Dairy Cattle Judging Contest
should be aware of the rules.
1. Participation will be limited
to eight contestants total per coun
ty for 4-H, and eight contestants
per school for FFA.
2. Each contestant must be a
member in good standing of the
4-H Club or FFA Chapter he or she
represents. Furthermore, each con
testant must be eligible to partici
pate in this year's state 4-H and/or
FFA dairy cattle judging contest.
Junior 4-H contestants are bom on
or after Jan. 1, 1978. Junior FFA
contestants must not have reached
the tenth grade.
3. There will be eight Holstein
classes including one or more heif
er classes.
4. Oral reasons: Senior 4-H and
Senior FFA; Two sets of oral rea
sons will be given. The contest
chairman will designate reasons
classes prior to the start of the con
test. To be eligible for awards, con-
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BQO-338-2137
BROAD —SPECTRUM
RESISTANCE
Premium Blend is a new, fast
growing, winterhardy alfalfa that
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she is needed.
“Mark’s project is exceptional,"
said FFA advisor Ellen Aurand.
“He’s an outstanding individual.
One you can always depend on —•
that’s why he is president of his.
tcstants must give reasons on the
designated classes.
Junior 4-H and Junior FFA: Pre
rcgistered contestants can give one
set of oral reasons. These scores
will not count in individual or team
results in this division. However,
the top three reasons scores will
receive appropriate recognition. A
team can designate some juniors to
give reasons and some not to give
reasons when entering.
5. Contestants will be given IS
minutes for each reason class. A "3
minutes to go" notification will be
given. Contestants will be told
which classes are reason classes
before time is started.
6. Each contestant must do his
or her own work. There will be no
talking allowed during the contest.
Contestant management personnel
can disqualify the contestant for
FFA chapter.”
For the slate star award, Mark
received a plaque, $3OO, and the
opportunity to compete for the
Eastern Slate Award held at Mas ■
sachuset in September.
violation of this rule.
7. Contestants are not permitted
to handle any of the animals during
the contest.
8. A team will consist of four
members. The three highest mem
bers' scores will be added for the
team score. If you wish to only
enter three members, then all of
their scores will be added for the
team score. Individuals may also
compete for awards without being
a member of a team.
9. Whenever there are tie scores,
the advantage will be given to the
contestant or team with the highest
reason scores.
10. Entry fees must be paid
before the start of the contest.
11 . Any violation of any of the
rules governing this contest will be
grounds for disqualifying any con
test and/or team.
BELMONT
BELMONT is a fast growing,
winterhardy alfalfa that delivers
outstanding pest resistance. This new
variety was bred to withstand
frequent cutting and produce heavy
yields of high quality hay for the
horse and dairy industry. There is
always a market for high quality hay,
and BELMONT was developed for
this market. BELMONT is high
yielding in University tests.
Dealer Inquiries Welcome
Great Plains Research
800-874-7945