State maple tour will return to Delaware County

Vicky Klukkert, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·3 min read

Sep. 6—The New York State Maple Tour will return to Delaware County for the first time in 20 years.

Micah Scobie, who heads the committee planning the event, said there will be a trade show at the Quality Inn in Oneonta on Sept. 30. On Oct. 1, two coach buses will leave the hotel for a tour of five maple producers in Delaware County. Scobie said the tour is geared toward maple producers, but anyone interested in the business is also welcome on the tour.

New York ranks second to Vermont for maple syrup production, he said. "We all fall behind Canada," he added.

"Each producer offers something different," Scobie said. Each stop on the tour will be 40 minutes, during which owners will discuss their operations, he said. "What they do, the types of woods they have, the number of taps they have." The owners will also discuss their value-added products. "A lot of the evaporators are oil-fired, but one producer does have a wood-fired evaporator," he said.

The first stop on the tour will be at Scobie's farm, Brookside Maple & Farm in DeLancey, which he owns with his brother, Matthew Scobie. The two took over their father's business in 2008, Micah said.

The second stop of the tour is Catskill Mountain Maple in DeLancey, which is owned by Tom and Jo Ann Kaufman. From there, the tour will head to Bovina Center to the Maplewood Farm and Orchard, owned by the Duane and Karen LaFever.

Lunch will be served at Delaware Academy Central School District at Delhi, where members of the Delaware Academy Central School District at Delhi Future Farmers of America chapter will give a tour of their sap house, Scobie said.

Following lunch, the tour will stop at Thompson's Sugar Shack in North Harpersfield, owned by Dan and Missy Thompson, and then at Shaver-Hill Farm in Harpersfield, owned by the Hill family. The coach buses will return to the Quality Inn, where a banquet dinner will be served, he said.

Scobie said he was a young boy when his dad, Mike, helped host the tour in 2002. Delaware County was scheduled to host the tour in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the event until this year, he said.

Scobie said the committee decided in May to hold the tour this year, and its members have been planning the event ever since. "It's short notice for the registration, but we're trying to make it work," he said. "We're hoping to get 100 people registered."

He said other states also have had to postpone their maple tours the past few years and some postponed this year's tour as well. "We hope to get people from other states and Canada," he said. "It will allow people to tour the Catskills during fall foliage season."

Registration for the tour ends Sept. 15, Scobie said. Registration forms can be found online at https://tinyurl.com/4vj4j5fy. People can register to attend the entire event, which includes the trade show Friday night, breakfast at the Quality Inn, the tour, lunch and a banquet dinner Saturday, or just the trade show, or tour, or Saturday's banquet dinner. Lodging is extra.

For more information, contact Scobie at 607-376-2365.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.