Warm weather produces early maple sap run
PHOTO CREDIT / RUSS DILLINGHAM
It's maple syrup time: Rob Johanson carries a propane heater to the sugar house to get it ready for the sugaring season at Goranson Farm in Dresden last April.
In stark contrast to last winter’s delayed maple sap season due to colder-than-normal temperatures and deep snow, this winter’s warm spell has maple sap running early, prompting producers to worry that the season could be short, MPBN reported.
Maine's maple sap season traditionally begins in March. In a typical year, Maine's sap season runs four to six weeks.
Carrabassett Valley producer Pat Mitchell told MPBN that the early run, although shorter, produces the best “fancy” syrup.
According to the Maine Maple Producers Association, many counties around the state have begun tapping. “As spring temperatures start coming, with days in the 40s and nights in the mid 20s, the sap will begin to flow and lots of Pure Maine Maple Syrup will be produced,” MMPA says on its website.
According to University of Maine economist Todd Gabe, including multiplier effects, Maine’s maple syrup industry annually contributes $49 million in revenue, 805 full- and part-time jobs and $25 million in wages to the state’s economy.
Each year the industry directly contributes about $27.7 million in revenue, 567 full- and part-time jobs and $17.3 million in wages to Maine’s economy, Gabe said.
Maple producers earn about 75% of the revenue through sales of syrup and other maple products, including maple candy, maple taffy, maple whoopie pies and maple-coated nuts, he said.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maine is one of 10 states that produce maple syrup. The others are Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin.
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