Stockton University’s attempt to turn South Jersey into a maple syrup center once again received a grant of $500,0000 from the United States Department of Agriculture.

The first allocation is also US$500,000, which is in 2020. According to an article by Atlantic City Press, Stockton is investigating the feasibility of using red maple to produce maple syrup. Usually, sugar maple is used to make syrup because its sap contains high sugar content, but researchers at Stockton are studying whether modern extraction techniques can convert areas with large amounts of red maple (such as southern New Jersey) into syrup Production area.

According to Atlantic City Press, “the second grant is about starting the industry,” said Aaron Stoler, an assistant professor of environmental sciences at Stockton University who led the grant team. "This requires two things: people who are excited about producing syrup and a community that is excited about tasting and buying syrup. We need what Vermont has."

The funds from the grant will be used to establish maple syrup production centers in South Jersey and Philadelphia to produce and collect syrup. The grant will also be used to help people set up their own maple syrup business for consulting costs.

Stockton set up a maple syrup production facility, pouring 400 maple trees into a central tank. According to media reports, this can produce 4,000 gallons of sap, which can then be boiled into 60-80 gallons of syrup.

The syrup produced by Stockton will not be sold because it is used for research purposes and is a donation.

The opinions expressed in the above post are only those of Bill Doyle, the host of the 101.5 talk show in New Jersey.

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