Change in Maple Sugaring

Observation by Heather Brubaker McAlister

Though we do not harvest and process maple sugar into syrup we have been told that the farmers that "sugar" are frustrated with the short Spring sugaring season and are looking into alternate ways to collect the sap. In order to make maple syrup you need the trees to be dormant and then once the sap begins to run in the Spring you have to have cold nights (below or at freezing) and warm days. This time period is only from the time the sap starts to run until the buds begin to come on the trees. Once the buds come the sap turns sour and the sugar content declines in the sap. This time frame has been shortening over the last few Spring seasons - to the point where the farmers are unable to harvest enough sap to make the quotas of syrup that they need - it takes 40 gallon of sap to boil down to/ make one gallon of maple syrup. So in response to this shortened time frame some farmers have been looking into the possibility of sugaring in the Fall. This is perceived as almost blasphemous in the sugaring community. Some farmers, though, have been having success once the trees become dormant in the early winter and then the days warm up and they get the cold night/ warm day combination. The consensus is that the syrup is not as sweet, but that they can get more use out of their trees and can extend their syrup making season in this manner. Though not many farmers are doing this at this time, it is interesting to note the compensation and experimentation that these farmers, who are forever tied to the seasons, are making to continue their livelihood in light of the changing dimensions of the seasons.

LEO says: Researchers from the University of Vermont, University of New Hampshire and others New England academic institutions have been monitoring changes in sap timing and production of maple trees. See related article from National Geographic. For statistics on Northeast maple syrup production see USDA