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Algoma Maple Syrup Producers' Association celebrates first tapping

Ontario Maple Syrup Producers' Association will hold its annual general meeting and summer tour in the Algoma District

The Algoma Maple Syrup Producers’ Association (AMSPA) held a ‘first tapping’ ceremony at the Sault Ste. Marie Regional Conservation Authority’s sugar shack on Friday.

The first tapping is a long standing tradition within the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers’ Association (OMSPA), as the honour goes to the region selected to host its annual general meeting and summer tour.

Following the first tapping ceremony, OMSPA president Brian Bainborough told dignitaries and maple syrup producers in attendance that the maple syrup industry, which he said brings in 70 million dollars of economic benefit to the province, needs to grow further in Ontario.  

“As a province, we do not produce enough maple syrup to meet our own demand, and yet we have more maple trees than our neighbour to the east,” Bainborough said. “We have great potential here to expand and make this a bigger business.”

Bainborough hinted to politicians attending the ceremony that more crown land is needed in order to expand maple syrup production throughout the province, which is a notion that AMSPA president Tolbert Stinson agrees with.

“It makes it much more affordable, because if you have to buy property and then buy $200,000 worth of equipment, it’s unheard of for a lot of people,” Stinson said. “That’s why a lot of maple syrup operations are passed down throughout the years, from generation to generation.”

The Algoma District will host the OMPSA annual general meeting and summer tour, which will take place July 12-14. The organization’s annual general meeting will take place at the Quattro Hotel in Sault Ste. Marie, while the summer tour - which will include stops at 10 maple syrup production facilities - will take place throughout the Algoma District.


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James Hopkin

About the Author: James Hopkin

James Hopkin is a reporter for SooToday in Sault Ste. Marie
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