Cold Dose Of Reality Briefly Dampens Enthusiasm

I've been spending my spare moments getting excited about a couple of things I am planning for the early spring. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I have a large amount (for me!) of honey to harvest. I also am very aware that February is just around the corner and that means it will be time to tap the maples in the back woods!

I have been obsessing over the idea of trying my hand at sugaring again. I tapped a couple of box elders during college and managed to make a few cups of passable syrup. I have been reading books on maple syrup production from the library and frequenting websites on the same topic. I have been having a ball trying to figure out an inexpensive way to set myself up with taps and buckets and rigging an evaporator of some kind.

As soon as the snow cleared enough that I could comfortably walk back into the wood without snowshoes (that's no exaggeration!), I went out and measured my small collection of maples. After some more obsessing over my sources, I concluded that I could set 18 taps. This is a laughably tiny sugarbush when compared to the professionals but it is what is available to me.

Thinking of having honey and maple syrup to sell made me start thinking that I might be able to set up a table at the local farmer's markets. To those small harvests we could add garden produce and some of Janet's jellies and preserves. I started planning some visits to the local wintermarkets to do some reconnaissance on what was being offered.

This is where the cold dose of reality comes in. I was reading about the farmer's markets and I ran across a Michigan Department of Agriculture website that explained the regulations for farmers who want to produce food for sale. To spare you the details, I am far from ready to pass inspection!

Ohio has a law that allows foods such as jellies or maple syrup to be labeled as "Home Produced" and sold. Michigan, as it turns out, is very strict about their food safety laws. They do not allow any food items other than unprocessed fruit and vegetables to be sold unless they have been produced in a "licensed commercial kitchen."

The very first requirement for this licensing process is that you can not use a kitchen that is also used to prepare meals for the family. It has to be in a separate room and meet a long list of health and safety codes.

The gentleman at the beekeeping supply store had mentioned something about "the new food safety regulations that were just about impossible for most backyard beekeepers to meet". At the time it went over my head. Now the realization landed squarely and stopped my farming fantasies in their tracks.

After a few hours of feeling low, I started reading through the requirements to see just how much it would take to meet them. It would add some unexpected costs but wasn't completely out of the question. This evening I gingerly broached the subject with Janet, explaining the dilemma and my thoughts of how to solve it.

To my great relief, she was supportive and even threw in some good ideas to make it more affordable. Bless her! Now the farming fantasy express is back up to full steam and moving forward again! It will take a while to make it happen, but at least it can be done.