Earth Week Plus is offering a tasty tour this month at Bonz Beach Farms in Onaway.
Guests can experience an up-close look at the farm’s maple syrup production from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 14 and 15.
According to an Earth Week Plus announcement, Bonz Beach Farms owners Jeff and Gary Shepherd operate a syrup-making business with a tree tap system that moves sap through 2 miles of tubing into a collection pumphouse.
“I started with 60 taps in the first year I made syrup,” said Gary Shepherd in the announcement. “Now we have about 4,300 taps.”
Tour participants will see how the sap is pumped into a 4,200-gallon tank to begin the syrup process and learn the steps in the automated manufacturing shop, which can produce about 40 gallons of syrup an hour. They will also learn about how sap can become syrup, sugar, candy, mustard and much more.
The maple syrup season generally runs from mid-February to the end of April.
The farm is located at 20706 Bonz Beach Highway in Onaway. This program is sponsored by Earth Week Plus and is free and suitable for all ages.
For more information, visit earthweekplus.org.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: See maple syrup production in action during Bonz Beach Farms tours
Reporting by Jillian Fellows, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
