Makin molasses (sorghum syrup)

[acem]

Spent the past few days helping make sorghum syrup. We're helping them with their cane now. Well process our cane in a few weeks.

Never worked making syrup before so I'm learning a lot.

 

[1965Dennis]

When it is 110 in the shade, that job is hot. We had a family close here that did that for 2 or 3 generations but don't have any younger offsprings so they ended their operation when Covid hit. 

[acem]

Luckily the temps are down. Highs in the low 90s.

It's hot but tolerable.

[Alan Dinan]

A neighbor of a friend of mine had a setup for making sorghum molasses. It was his parents and they processed sorghum for 10-12 other families in the 60’s-70’s. He took over the farm and did a half acre a year after that until he sold the farm a couple years ago. He sold off almost all of the equipment. He moved to Missouri, near his son and took some of it with him. Not sure if he got it set up again. He is a member of some sorghum association, and traveled for meetings and workshops. He told of a big farmer along the Arkansas river that raised several hundred acres of sorghum. He built a harvester out of a 915 combine. @acem do you know who that is/was?

[MacAR]

Is that a lawn mower pulling the mill? I remember years ago when I was a lad, there was an old man here in town that made molasses. My grandad and I used to go up and help out, they usually stuck me stripping the leaves off the stalks. When I got older, we started growing a small patch of cane and taken it to him to make syrup for us. Best I remember, he kept a fourth for his trouble. Somebody always had a mule or horse (usually us) and that's what pulled the mill. Seems like it was later in the fall that we did it though, almost want to say after it'd frosted? Maybe I'm wrong. I do miss it though, it was a lot of fun. All those old men that knew how to do that are gone now sadly.  

Mac

[acem]

2 hours ago, Alan Dinan said:

A neighbor of a friend of mine had a setup for making sorghum molasses. It was his parents and they processed sorghum for 10-12 other families in the 60’s-70’s. He took over the farm and did a half acre a year after that until he sold the farm a couple years ago. He sold off almost all of the equipment. He moved to Missouri, near his son and took some of it with him. Not sure if he got it set up again. He is a member of some sorghum association, and traveled for meetings and workshops. He told of a big farmer along the Arkansas river that raised several hundred acres of sorghum. He built a harvester out of a 915 combine. @acem do you know who that is/was?

Never heard about them. If it was anywhere close I'd have heard. I know people to ask.

[acem]

1 hour ago, MacAR said:

Is that a lawn mower pulling the mill? I remember years ago when I was a lad, there was an old man here in town that made molasses. My grandad and I used to go up and help out, they usually stuck me stripping the leaves off the stalks. When I got older, we started growing a small patch of cane and taken it to him to make syrup for us. Best I remember, he kept a fourth for his trouble. Somebody always had a mule or horse (usually us) and that's what pulled the mill. Seems like it was later in the fall that we did it though, almost want to say after it'd frosted? Maybe I'm wrong. I do miss it though, it was a lot of fun. All those old men that knew how to do that are gone now sadly.  

Mac

That's an overgrown lawn mower/ compact tractor. It's the smallest thing they have.

This was planted early may. It's early.

Mine will be ready in a couple weeks.

[Siefring Red Farmer]

I"ve been doing this for about 4 years now.  here is my setup.  I modified my mill to run off the PTO.  Big time improvement.  I don't know if I'll run any this year.  My sorghum came up real late and then through neglect, the weeds took over the patch.  I'll see in a week or two if I harvest it or not.

[oleman]

There is internet machinery tech  @keithrucker that recently rebuilt (RE-POURED BABBITT AND BUILT-UP AND RETURNED SHAFTS) several old cane mills.  He is always doing something related to agriculture in Georgia.  His group runs a old steam logging train and provides rides to the public in the spring and fall in South East Georgia. BELIEVE  He makes a living working for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, mostly in peanut support. 

[barkerwc4362]

There used to be several of the mills in peoples yards around here.  They are virtually all gone now.  I remember one along the road I walked when I lived in a double wide while I was divorced.  I'll have to ask Libby who around here used to process the sorghum into syrup.

Bill

[acem]

Back at it again today.

 

[acem]

Some of the the sorghum started getting hot and looking like silage. We pulled it out and scattered it around to cool down.

 

[acem]

Today was my last day. Gotta start cutting rice. They will make more next week.

 

[TN Hillbilly]

Are the sugar cane aphids still taking a toll on the cane? We heard that the aphids had about wiped out most folks patches up here 2-3 years ago. We've not grown any in 6 or 7 years.

[acem]

Haven't seen any sugar cane aphids yet.

Haven't seen them on the Milo round here either.

[acem]

We ran the corn binder on some more sorghum. It's an old IH/ McCormick/Deering. It's quite contraption!

My phone was on acid from back in the hippy days in that one pic.

[acem]

Here's some video of it running.

 

[Lazy WP]

https://www.facebook.com/reel/617086916993209?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&mibextid=0NULKw

 

this is impressive 

[acem]

Stripping, cutting and loading cane at my place.

Notice the old IH binder

[Jacka]

You guys keep changing from saying surgar cane to sorghum to milo ,You got me confused which is it?

[barkerwc4362]

There was a festival up at Loachapoka, Alabama on October 7th called the Syrup Soppin' Day, https://www.leecountyhistoricalsociety.org/syrup-soppin .  My step-daughter and her husband went to it.  Looks like it was interesting.

[acem]

We are growing sweet sorghum to make syrup. Down in south Louisiana, Florida and Texas they grow sugar cane (winters are too cold here).  Milo isa different sorghum grown for grain.

Sweet sorghum and Milo are closely related and can cross.

[acem]

Milo is grain sorghum.

Haygrazer (Sudan/sorghum hybrid) is a sorghum hybrid.

Sudan and Johnson grass ate also sorghums.

 

[acem]

Often times sorghum names are used differently by different people. It can be confusing. It doesn't help that there are so many different types and uses of sorghums.

Sugarcane is not a sorghum.

Technically molasses is a byproduct of processing sugar cane. Sorghum syrup is made from sweet sorghum. However sorghum syrups are often called molasses. I grew up thinking that molasses was sorghum syrup...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum

https://www.southernliving.com/what-is-sorghum-7094287

https://sorghumgrowers.com/sorghum-101/#:~:text=Sorghum is a non-GMO,gluten intolerance or celiac disease.

[acem]

Few pics from this morning.