Maple producers typically don’t start making syrup until March. However, this El Nino winter has given some of them an early start on their season.
For sap to run in maple trees, daytime temperatures must be in the upper-30s to mid-40s, with overnight temperatures falling below freezing. That most often happens in March or early April. But that’s the temperature pattern that happened from mid-January to early February this year.
Attica resident Greg Zimpfer, a longtime maple producer, says this year’s early start might provide a bumper crop of maple syrup and related products. Zimpfer, working in conjunction with Merle Maple, has already boiled approximately 25 percent of a normal year’s syrup crop. That’s about one month earlier than normal.
“Those who tapped their trees early should have a great crop,” Zimpfer said. “I’m concerned that those who waited might end up a little short if the weather warms up early.”
This year, the largest maple event in America, the 21st Annual Maple Weekend, will be March 19-20 and April 2-3. The free event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at about 150 maple farms across New York State. A list of participating sugarhouses and maps can be found at www.mapleweekend.com.
“New York State maple syrup has an established reputation as one of the highest quality maple syrups in the world and continues to gain in popularity,” Zimpfer added. “People like to see where their food is coming from, and you don’t get a lot of those opportunities nowadays.”
New York’s maple syrup production increased by 10 percent in 2015 over 2014. New York is the second-largest maple producing state in the U.S., with 2.31 million taps producing 601,000 gallons of syrup and accounting for 18 percent of the syrup in the U.S. in 2015.
