Though March is officially considered Massachusetts Maple Month, many sugar makers have already kicked-off the 2024 season, tapping maple trees for syrup as early as mid-January with no clear end to the season in sight.
“It looks like it’s going to be a good year,” said Massachusetts Maple Producers Association coordinator Missy Leab, of Ioka Valley Farm in Hancock.
“And just because we started boiling in January does not mean we are going to end any sooner than any other typical year,” said Leab.
Leab said she usually taps from late January until late March or early April, though she knows of other sugar makers tapping trees as early as Jan. 13.
“Quite a few people across the state have been able to get taps out and caught that last FOS,” referring to the sweet, carbohydrate compound found in syrup, also known as fructooligosaccharides. ”It was a wonderful, generous run for most people.”
MMPA Board of Director Richard Julian, of Deer Meadow Farm in Warren, said making syrup is “weather-dependent,” and sugar makers tap trees, boil sap and make syrup whenever they can.
The sugar shack at Deer Meadow Farm in Warren is where sap is boiled down into maple syrup. The farm is hosting a sugar shack tour on Maple Weekend, March 16-17, 2024.Courtesy of Deer Meadow Farm, Warren Ma
“For sap to run, it needs to be below freezing at night to build up pressure,” said Julian. “A sugar maker’s dream is 20 degrees at night and 45 degrees during the day.”
He said there is no way to be 100% sure of what the season will look like, but plans on at least six weeks of sugar making.
Julian said he starts tapping trees around Valentine’s Day and started boiling right on schedule this year, with his first boil on Feb. 11.
“I made 82 gallons (of syrup) last year, and 85 the year before,” said Julian. “We always hope for a good season.”
It takes about 43 gallons of “raw” sap to boil down into 1 gallon of maple syrup, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
“In the old days, people would tap in March and April,” said Julian, adding that people are now tapping around February or earlier.
In an article published last year by the USDA, Jason Lilley, Assistant professor of sustainable agriculture and maple industry educator for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, said the earlier sugaring season may be related to climate change.
He said if this phenomenon was happening in a single season, he would have considered it an abnormality.
“However, this has been a widely recognized trend among the maple industry over several seasons,” said Lilley.
And 2024 is no exception.
High Hopes Farm Sugarhouse owner and sugar maker, Brian Rowe, of Worthington, said “times have changed,” and his sugarhouse is one that will extend its season this year, thanks to the early start.
“We started tapping about two and a half weeks ago,” said Rowe, who is on his 33rd year tapping trees in Massachusetts.
High Hopes Sugarhouse, at 113 Huntington Road in Worthington, will be open for the season and pancake breakfasts starting Saturday, Feb. 24, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., and will end the season on April 7.
MMPA Board of Director Bruce Hopper, of Pure BS Maple Shack in Auburn, said he started right on schedule this season, though believes he could have started earlier.
“I know some people who have bottled and tapped already,” said Hopper. “In my experience, I’ve learned ‘don’t go too hog-wild too early’.”
He said starting early can sometimes make the “liquid gold” crop more vulnerable to weather conditions such as wind or freezing temperatures – affecting the flow of the sap.
“When the wind is blowing, it’s too much,” he said.
University of New Hampshire professor of natural resources and environmental researcher Heidi Asbjornsen told the USDA, “in the Northeast, late winter and spring are the times of year that are experiencing the most dramatic climate change.”
And, “perhaps no surprise that tapping patterns are changing.”
As far as predicting how the crop yield will be this season, Hopper said “it’s a lot of just watching the weather. There isn’t any set day or time.”
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Leab, who has nearly 30 years of sugar-making experience, said once the maples start producing buds, the syrup-making season is at its end.
“The flavor changes dramatically at that point also. So again, that’s Mother Nature’s control of when we start and when we finish,” said Leab.
With Massachusetts Maple Month in March, sugar makers are gearing up for a state-wide maple celebration known as Maple Weekend.
On Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17, sugar makers will participate in maple festivities with tours of their sugarhouses, showcasing their maple goods and offering hot samples of syrup.
Leab and the Ioka Valley Farm team at 3475 Hancock Road in Hancock, will celebrate by serving pancakes, waffles and French toast, offering sugarhouse tours and – of course – maple syrup tasting.
“It’s a great time of year,” said Leab. “It’s a wonderful transition from the late winter through the early spring. I can’t think of any other way to celebrate mud season except for making maple syrup.”
Julian said Deer Meadow Farm, located at 60 Reed St. in Warren, will celebrate with a tour of the sugarhouse, tour(s) of the woods to showcase sugar bushes, and offer warm maple syrup samples.
Deer Meadow Farm will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, and 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 17.
High Hopes Sugarhouse of Worthington will offer the usual, seasonal all-you-can-eat pancake and breakfast buffet on Maple Weekend, in addition to a tour of the sugar shack and Q&A sessions.
“Everything is made in the same building,” said Rowe, “we can show the production on how it’s made.”
