Forest conversation is recognized as one of the most serious threats to Kentucky forests.  Nearly 48% of Kentucky is covered by woodlands and 88% of those are owned by private landowners.  Kentucky forests provide significant community benefits in ecological services such as clean water, wildlife, aesthetic beauty and recreational activities, free of charge.  In an effort to decrease the demand to clear out woodlands for traditional farming practices, it is vital for woodland management education and economical opportunities to reach the private woodland landowners through University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Services.

In February of 2021, University of Kentucky Boone County Cooperative Extension Services partnered with Boone County Arboretum and the University of Kentucky’s Natural Resource Department to provide a virtual Maple Tapping Basics program to reach Kentucky residents and other interested individuals.

Participants learned how to ID maple trees, basic equipment, the cooking process, maple organizations and how to safely store maple syrup.

The program had 98 in attendance across 6 states and two countries, impacting an estimated 2,500 acres total and 1,400 acres in Kentucky.  Roughly half of the attendees plan to use the information learned from the program to produce maple syrup for their personal consumption and an estimated 10% plan to use the information for additional income for the household.  Approximately half of the attendees were interested or planned to join the KY Maples Syrup Association as a result of the program.

In addition to the virtual Maple Syrup Basics Program, McGlasson Farm participated in the 2^nd Annual KY Maple Day event at the request of UK Boone County Cooperative Extension Service for the first year.  McGlasson had about 100 people come to the farm to see how maple syrup is produced and they sold out of all their maple products!  They even had to create a maple syrup “waitlist” to accommodate the customer demand.