Maple syrup production is booming thanks to an early transition to spring-like warmth, much to the joy of pancake and waffle connoisseurs across the nation. Temperature records have been falling left and right for the past 3 months, causing the maple sap to flow freely. How long will the “syrup season” last?
The maple syrup production process starts with obtaining sap from the sugar maple tree, which contains the highest content of sugar out of the maple tree family. Out of every 43 gallons of sap collected, only 1 gallon of maple syrup is actually produced. Generally, the best sap flows in sugar maple trees between February and April. Early season collections of sap result in a lighter color of syrup while a late collection results in darker colored syrup.
Northern and eastern sections of North America are unique for having an ideal climate for production of maple syrup. In Canada, the collection of maple syrup occurs in the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Across the United States, the following states report mass production of maple syrup: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
Top Five Syrup Producing Provinces/States:
- Quebec, Canada (Around 7.9 millions gallons per year)
- Vermont, USA (900,000 gpy)
- Ontario, Canada (400,000 gpy)
- New York, USA (a little more than 300,000 gpy)
- Maine, USA (around 300,000 gpy)
The most ideal weather conditions for the maple syrup production season include high temperatures above 40 degrees and low temperatures at night dropping below freezing. Cold weather was present at the start of the 2015 maple syrup season, as temperatures had a hard time rising above freezing. This delayed the start of the production season, taking away precious time for taking sap from the trees. This led to sugar houses taking some big losses financially.
By contrast, the 2016 season is off to a fast start with maple syrup production. Temperatures above freezing more frequently has increased sap flow rates. The weather outlook through April (see the outlook below from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center) is calling for above average temperatures across the major syrup production regions. This would indicate high temperatures above freezing more often and nighttime temperatures struggling to get below freezing. Although the quality of the maple syrup will be high in taste and commercial value, the production season will be shortened. Once sugar maple trees begin to bud, it will be harder for sap to be collected from the tree, and what sap is collected will be off-flavor. So Mr. MORECAST suggests you stock up while you can!
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