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Maple syrup producers benefiting from weather swings
A maple syrup producer says recent warm ups and cool downs have been good for tapping maple trees.
Joe Woods with the Michigan Maple Syrup Association tells Brownfield producers in northern Michigan started tapping trees in mid-February which is earlier than normal. “A normal season would run approximately for this year from March 1st to about April 15th. Farther north it’s going to shift a little later and farther south it will shift a little earlier.”
He says when the weather warms up for several days, production and sugar content slows. “When you have the freeze ups everything kind of stops, but that’s also very good because usually we’ll increase our sugar content during those freeze ups.”
Woods says perfect conditions for producing maple syrup is 40 degrees during the day and 20 degrees at night.
Michigan was the nation’s seventh largest maple syrup producer in 2016.
Local sugar bushes throughout the state will be open for consumers to visit as part of the Michigan Maple Weekends which run March 18 to April 2.
AUDIO: Interview with Joe Woods
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