COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Commercial syrup producers and hobbyists are already preparing for next year with Ohio State University Extension's North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual.  The manual's second edition, released in 2007, already has sold more than 4,500 copies. It's available to order in either paperback (spiral bound) for $31.00 or hardbound for $45 at OSU Extension's online bookstore, http://estore.osu-extension.org/. Ohio residents may also order a copy through their county office of OSU Extension.  "The manual is tremendously well respected," said Randy Heiligmann, OSU Extension specialist in forestry, researcher with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and one of the manual's editors. "The authors are scientists and practitioners who are at the cutting edge of what's happening in the industry."

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ohio produced 118,000 gallons of maple syrup in 2008, a 57 percent increase from 2007 and the most since 1959. Ohio was fifth in the nation in maple syrup production, behind only Vermont, New York, Maine and Wisconsin.

For those who want a more comprehensive look at maple syrup production, the 329-page North American Maple Syrup Production Manual offers just about everything:
*Chapters 1-5 look at the big picture, from the history of maple syrup production to planning an operation to managing the trees.
*Chapters 6-8 cover production: from tapping, collecting and storing the sap to boiling, filtering, grading, packaging and storing the valuable syrup.
*Chapters 9-11 dig into end products -- not just maple syrup but maple sugar, maple cream, maple candy and more; ways to market them; the economics of production; and the facilities needed.
*Chapter 13 caps the book with a vital look at safety: potential problems and how to solve them to keep both workers and customers safe.

Five appendices include equipment manufacturers and information sources, maple chemistry and quality, determining proportions when adjusting off-density syrup, identifying and eliminating undesirable flavors, and a sample sugarbush lease agreement.  The manual has more than 20 authors and was co-edited by Melvin Koelling from Michigan State University and Timothy Perkins of the Proctor Maple Research Center at the University of Vermont.