The farm is involved in a project with Oregon State University that is exploring the viability of producing maple water & maple syrup from Big Leaf Maple in the Willamette Valley. Big Leaf Maple sap does not have as high of a sugar content as the traditional Sugar Maple from the Northeast, but they produce tons of maple water! When the season turns cold the taps start to flow. We have been collecting maple water from trees on the farm, but the project extends to multiple sites from Portland area to the surrounding Eugene area. Much of the maple water that is collected will be run through a reverse osmosis machine to make a more concentrated solution. Thereafter we can boil it in the evaporator until it reaches syrup concentration at 66.9 Brix (% sugar). The project is aimed at creating maple syrup and other maple water products. Maple water is an isotonic beverage, similar to coconut water with a lot less food miles attached for locals.