Gas lease funds maple farm expansion

Biodiesel and geothermal on the horizon

By SANDY LONG

UPPER DELAWARE REGION — As he waited for the roughly 60 participants on the 2009 Pennsylvania Maple Tour to arrive, Gene Yatsonsky reflected on his family’s recent efforts to transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. “We decided we’d rather try tapping them instead of cutting them down,” he said, referring to the maple trees on his 160-acre property in Honesdale, PA.

Yatsonsky currently operates an excavating business and, as such, has cleared his fair share of land. He’s also burned ample amounts of fossil fuel, so when his 23-year-old son, Jesse, began talking about running the heavy machinery on biodiesel, Gene and his wife, Joni, listened with interest. “We wanted to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Gene.

As members of the Northeastern Maple Producers Association discovered on the tour of Sugar Creek Maple Farm, Jesse built a processing unit and began producing biodiesel from waste vegetable oil for use in their off-road equipment. The Yatsonskys made the switch to biodiesel several years ago, and began tapping trees.

Jesse continued learning about sustainable alternatives. Funds from a gas lease made it possible for the family to build a new 1,300 square-foot sugarhouse complete with an attractive kitchen featuring wood cabinetry and paneling crafted from trees harvested on the property. Jesse convinced his parents to install geothermal heat in the building.

The family is one year into the process, with 1,500 taps and plans to expand within three years to 8,000 taps for wholesale production of maple products.

Participants were treated to a tour of the new facilities and an informational session on producing biodiesel. Earlier in the day, they visited Calkins Creamery in Honesdale, PA; Nebzydoski’s Maple Farm in Pleasant Mount, PA; and Shemanski Maple Syrup in Waymart, PA. Tips of the trade were offered at each stop, providing varied perspectives on the art of maple sugaring and more.

The day concluded with an evening banquet in Hancock, NY, where two young women vied to be chosen the Pennsylvania Maple Sweetheart for 2010 by demonstrating their knowledge of all things maple. The following day included a tour of Tall Timbers Tree Farm, northeast of Honesdale, owned by Craig, Janet and Tara Olver, where participants enjoyed a pig roasted with Pennsylvania maple syrup.

Peggy Simons, president of the Association, noted that maple trees in the region have been stressed by the deforestation caused by forest tent caterpillars and, in some cases, overtapping. Visit www.pamapleassociation.com/members-northeastern.html for more information.