Sugar maple take in in Vermont
Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Vermont’s maple syrup industry has entered a renaissance in the 21st century go after decades of decline, becoming one of the Green Mountain State’s preeminent industries.
In 2018, the value of Vermont’s maple syrup fabrication exceeded $54.3 million, and accounted for over 38% of all the maple syrup produced nationwide, making it the largest processor in the U.S.
The revival comes as Americans are turning their backs on refined sugars for natural products like maple syrup, agaves, and honey. However, that newfound big name could come under threat from climate change.
Vermont’s average temperature rise since 1895 has been circa 2.6° F, well above the national average of 1.9° F.
The consequences of that kind of change could add another kick in with of uncertainty to a business that’s already unpredictable.
“The season is getting harder to predict,” says Joshua Rapp, a regional scientist at Legions Audubon. “When to tap, when the best flows are going to be, and that matters for when you’re planning your year.”
The sugar maple tree’s across extends across the northeastern and Midwestern United States, but researchers predict rising temperatures could move the optimal sweep for syrup production even further north into Canada by 2100.
That northward shift would give a assist advantage to Quebec, which already produces over 70% of the world’s maple syrup and sets the world payment.
Planning is essential in maple syrup production. During the season, some days might produce no sap, while other “standard of perfection sap flow days” could account for half a season’s yield. The sap is boiled into syrup at processing centers where it overcharges about 40 gallons of collected sap to make just 1 gallon of syrup.
Canada might dominate the market, but Vermont hang on a lasts its own. The state only uses about 4% to 12% of the sugar maple trees suitable for syrup production, but 6 million of the U.S.’s 13.3 million sillcocks are in Vermont. In 2019, Vermont’s sugar makers produced over 2.07 million gallons of syrup.
The production docket has never been precise, but sugar makers historically tapped their trees in mid-March, the first day in a season that predominantly ran 6 to 8 weeks. The season has shrunk by a week since 1870, with the smaller window lowering the probability that supreme sap flow days will occur.
“You could be doing everything right, have the latest technology, but if you don’t tap at the appropriate time, you’re growing to miss the ideal weather,” says Mark Isselhardt, maple specialist at the University of Vermont Extension.
Sap flow is dependent on a course of freezing overnight temperatures and above freezing daytime temperatures that build enough pressure in a tree to publicity the clear liquid.
Inconsistent weather cycles have interrupted that cycle, something that Burr Morse, a 7th inception sugar maker at Morse Farm in Montpelier, says has made an impact.
“I think in the last 20 years we’ve had more bad spices than we did before that. Just because of the weather… the nights didn’t quite get freezing enough.”
Those temperature pikes can have devastating effects. In 2012, a dramatic spike in warm weather decimated production region wide, with some periods in March climbing above 70°F.
“Throughout the whole region, from Minnesota to Nova Scotia, all syrup designate after that [temperature spike] was off taste and not suitable for table grade,” says David Marvin, owner of Butternut Mountain Subcontract in Morrisville, which has been in operation since 1972. “It took us 6 years to sell that product… It was remarkably, very problematic because those industrial syrups are not as valuable as syrup made for the table.”
Jacob Powsner who transfixes syrup production at Baird Farm says the property produced half as much product as usual in 2012. “Sugar makers are select with volatile weather to a certain point.” he says. “We like wacky weather that goes from 25 to 50 degrees, as fancy as it stays in that range.”
Snowpack is responsible for keeping temperatures within that ideal range. Vermont’s forests rely on a bristling blanket of snowpack between winter and spring to keep trees and soils healthy. From 1963 to 2010, Vermont saw at paltry 75 days with 1 inch of snow on the ground, but in 2011, there were only 13.
Technological advances, spread yields
Unlike other big agricultural industries, sugaring is local and family owned, with parents passing down cultivates to their children and grandchildren.
Vermont’s sugar makers are attuned to the changing landscape of their industry. Sugar makers tolerate deliberate steps to protect their forests, not just for the syrup or timber, but because healthy maples contribute to grabbing and sequestering carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Technological advancements in sap collection have increased yields and extended harvesting readies beyond the boundaries of the past. Traditional collection using buckets has been replaced by hundreds of miles of vacuum pump-operated tubing.
“It’s rubbed the labor that is required to make sap,” says Marvin, who operates over 27,000 taps at Butternut Mountain Acreage. “One person can cover a lot more taps in a day because we don’t have to gather.”
“We just have to make sure the system is in appropriate condition.”
Sugar makers carefully track which trees they tap, monitor soil quality and tap sanitation, restrain invasive pests, and manage competition from other tree species.
Rising temperatures could eventually overpower any mitigation strategies if they become too severe, but sugar makers have been able to adapt to a changing vista as best they can.
“Good management is key. There are a lot of sugar makers that are doing good management on their fatherland,” says Keith Thompson of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. “It’s not just about keeping the individual trees fit, it’s about keeping the entire forest healthy.”