Abstract

The goal of this project is to advance our understanding of the constraints and opportunities for developing the New York State maple syrup industry, and sustainable landscapes in general, by applying an institutional analysis of innovation.

Issue

The New York maple sugar industry is lagging, despite growth opportunities. Vermont, Maine, and Quebec are expanding their production and market shares while New York, the third-leading maple sugar state in the U.S., appears to be languishing. Loss of forest-based enterprises that generate income streams and maintain healthy forests exacerbates the dual policy challenges of economic development and forest conservation in the Northeast. A vibrant maple sugar industry has the potential to contribute simultaneously to both of these policy goals.

Sugar-bearing forests create jobs in and out of the woods as part of a regional development strategy, and the income from sugar sustains rapidly declining forests. Revenue streams from maple-related enterprises also reduce incentives to engage in logging and land sales, both of which permanently degrade forests. Successful interaction between socioeconomic values, like employment and identity, and ecological values, like maintaining wildlife habitat, is the central design element of a working landscape, and one that presents a pragmatic approach to sustainable development. While maple sugar can reasonably be expected to make only modest contributions to sustainable development in the region, this forest-based sector can serve as an effective model system for research on working landscapes.

Response

Working with leaders of the maple industry in New York State and with Cornell faculty members and extension agents, we developed a targeted research project to address a set of questions specific to maple producers, maple sector leaders, and social scientists interested in developing working landscapes.

We designed a mail survey and collected 275 responses, a response rate of 69 percent. This dataset contains over 200 variables and will allow us to address three general sets of questions, including the following: What development trajectories do we observe at the level of enterprises, regions, and the sector as a whole, and what structural factors explain a producer's trajectory? To what extent is maple syrup production complementary to forest management and forest health? And how does a producer's access to information and resource networks affect business trajectory and environmental stewardship?

Because no database of this kind currently exists, this research will add value to Cornell's efforts to support the New York State maple industry. As primary commodity-oriented industries continue to decline in New York State, value-added agricultural production the production of goods that provide a cultural, recreational, or ecosystem service will become increasingly important. In order to encourage the transition to multifunctional rural landscapes, it is necessary to understand how to catalyze entrepreneurship and collective action among small firms that are engaged in diverse forms of utilizing sustainable resources.

Impact

Our research helps support New York State maple production and efforts to maintain diverse, sustainable landscapes.

Funding Sources

• Federal Formula Funds - Research (e.g., Hatch, McIntire-Stennis, Animal Health)

Collaborators

• NY Maple Producers Association
• Cooperative Extension Maple Team (Pete Smallidge, leader)
• DNR Maple Advisory Board (Brian Chabot, leader)

Key Personnel

• Louise Buck,Senior Extension Associate, Project Consultant
• Brian Henehan, Sr Ext Assoc Warren Hall
• project Consultant
• Peter Smallidge, State Extension Forester