Maple sap runs when there are freeze-thaw cycles, Asbjornsen explained. Pure maple syrup is graded on four key attributes: Color, clarity, density and flavor. And yet, we won’t know the impact of all of it until the season wraps up - whenever that happens.” Mark Isselhardt, a maple specialist with the University of Vermont (UVM) Cooperative Extension, said 2023 has certainly been an odd year for weather with lots of warm weather in December, January and February in the lead up to the sugaring season. “January was the warmest on record in many places. “In the Northeast, late winter and spring are the times of year that are experiencing the most dramatic climate change, so it’s perhaps no surprise that tapping patterns are changing,” said researcher Heidi Asbjornsen, professor of natural resources and the environment at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). However, this has been a widely recognized trend among the maple industry over several seasons.” “If we were experiencing this in a single season, I would say that it's just a result of an abnormally warm winter. Jason Lilley, assistant Extension professor of sustainable agriculture and maple industry educator with University of Maine (UMaine) Cooperative Extension, said climate change is to blame for the early start of maple sugaring season. USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture funds research and Extension projects in key maple-producing states through numerous grant programs, including Hatch, McIntire-Stennis and Smith-Lever capacity funding as well as the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), the nation’s leading and largest competitive grants program for agricultural sciences. These grants are available to eligible colleges, universities, and other research organizations. In 2021, the three states produced more than 4 million gallons of maple syrup in 2021 valued at more than $100 million, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Vermont, New York and Maine are the top producing states, and produce about 80% of the maple syrup in the nation, with Vermont the overwhelming top producing state.

Maple tree syrup