The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced nearly $54,000 in grants to five Vermont maple syrup producers.

The money comes from the Rural Energy For America Program. The REAP grants will be used by producers to make their operations more energy efficient, utilizing reverse osmosis technology.

The idea is to remove water from sap before it's boiled down to syrup, reducing the amount of energy used in the production process.

The grants were announced by USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager.

VPR's Neal Charnoff spoke with Under Secretary Tonsager.