Proctor Maple Research Center - Underhill Center - Vermont
Recent Publications
- One or Two Tapholes
- Chemical Composition of Scale
- Sustainable Tapping Guidelines
- Tubing Cleaning - Methods Used in the U.S.
- High Vacuum in Gravity Tubing
- Tubing System Age and Sap Yield
- Estimating Twig Starch
- Leader Check-Valve Adapters
- Tubing System Aging
- Sap and Vacuum Dynamics
- UVM PMRC Survey - all respondents
- UVM PMRC Survey - respondents who used CV adapters
- Antimicrobial Silver in Maple Sap Collection
- Check-Valve Spout Adapter
- Wilmot columns from Farming Magazine
UVM Proctor Maple Research Center
Accepts Gifts In Memory of
James E. MacIsaac
favorite sugarmakers and my dad
James (Jim) Edward MacIsaac ’80
March 30, 1958 – November 1, 2011
My father was a dad first, a sugarmaker second. Sometimes that got switched around during sugaring season and I was okay with that. He taught me the love of the outdoors, whether it be camping, boating, or sugaring. I miss him deeply.
His devotion to his family farm in Starksboro was steadfast and honorable. From helping his mom with chores, to operating a 13,000-tap sugaring operation, no task was too small for my dad, or too big; he could do anything! I wish him peace.
The Proctor Maple Research Center at the University of Vermont is everything my dad believed in. He was constantly improving his equipment, using the latest taps and replacing tubing to ensure perfect production. He studied the health of his sugarbush, doing all he could to create a stand of maple trees that were brilliant and productive. That’s why I chose the Endowed Research Fund to honor my dad’s memory.
-Dylan James MacIsaac
James "Jim" MacIsaac passed away unexpectedly on November 1, 2011, while working in his sugarbush in Starksboro, VT. Jim graduated from the University of Vermont in 1980, began sugaring in 1986 and co-founded Highland Sugarworks of Websterville, VT in 1991. He was among the many donors who contributed to the UVM Proctor Maple Research Center's Endowed Research Fund during the drive to raise $500,000 for a research endowment in conjunction with its 50th anniversary in 1997. The Center's Endowed Research Fund now produces about $24,000 in annual income, which is used to conduct research of short-term importance and long-term value to sugarmakers and the maple industry at large.
Jim's son, Dylan James MacIsaac, along with Dylan's mother, Judy MacIsaac Robertson (co-founder of Highland Sugarworks) and her husband, Jim Robertson, have contributed to the Endowed Research Fund at the UVM Proctor Maple Research Center in Jim's memory, and they invite others to join them in honoring Jim by supporting maple research in the same way.
"We rely on the revenue from the Endowment Fund each year for a variety of research projects, and are especially glad to have it as a source of income now as other funding streams become less certain," said UVM Proctor Maple Research Center Director Tim Perkins. "I am grateful to Judy and Dylan for initiating this memorial gift effort," added Perkins. "It's a meaningful way to honor Jim as the gifts will have both immediate and lasting impact on maple research."
Donation Information
Contributions to the UVM Proctor Maple Research Center's Endowed Research Fund may be made via credit card using the UVM Development Office's secure online giving form. Select "Other" for the Gift Designation and enter "PMRC Endowed Research Fund in memory of James MacIsaac" in the space provided.
Donations may also be made by check (payable to the University of Vermont) and mailed to the UVM Development Office, 411 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05405. Please include a notation on the check or enclose a note indicating that the donation is for the PMRC Endowed Research Fund in memory of James MacIsaac.
A plaque honoring Jim and recognizing donors to the Proctor Maple Research Center Endowed Research Fund in his memory will be displayed in the Center's Maple Processing Research Facility at a later date. For more information, please contact Howard Lincoln at howard.lincoln@uvm.edu or (802) 656-2509. Thank you!
Last modified November 10 2011 03:57 PM