Maple syrup season is well underway in Ontario
By Jennifer Jackson
A warm weather spell across Ontario last week left many maple syrup producers with a ‘sweet’ taste in their mouth. Syrup season is well underway in a “unusual, but not untypical” early start, according to Ray Bonenberg, spokesperson for the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association and syrup producer himself in Renfrew County.
“It is early – normally most of the syrup is made in the middle of the season in March – as you get farther north a lot is made in April,” he says. “The length of this (warm spell run) has been a bit unusual but its not untypical.”
In eastern Ontario, most of the producers south of highway seven have tapped their trees and are producing, Bonenberg explained. Many producers in the northern regions – north of Highway Seven – are working on tapping trees.
Many producers in eastern Ontario experienced a large syrup run in mid-March 2016, according to Bonenberg. “Here (in 2017), we are seeing that significant run pushed back almost two whole weeks.”
Benoitle5/iStock/GettyImagesPlus
Managing this early production requires some operational changes.
“Early runs usually have less sugar content in the sap than in the midseason product. There is more work (when dealing with this early product) – more energy required in processing this sap into syrup,” says Bonenberg. Early production “also means logistically there is more work for the producers. However, this work could (pay off) with a higher amount of syrup but (only time will tell) what the season will bring.”
Further southwest, Mark Crinklaw, a London-area producer, is also experiencing this busy production time. Crinklaw Maple Syrup Products farm officially opened to the public for the season on Feb. 25. The farm has been producing syrup since 1832; Crinklaw is the sixth generation on farm.
“You have to be ready to watch the weather whenever you have a warm spell (like this) coming in,” he says. “The trees … are really draining strong – we have had to gather (sap) in the middle of the night to keep up and keep the tanks empty.”
The maple syrup produced so far has tasted excellent, according to Crinklaw. The farm has made almost 40 per cent of its predicted production so far.
“It’s great to get a good start like this – I am optimistic for the season,” he says. “We do need some cooler weather (however) to slow things down … Too much warm weather can cause the tree buds to swell, altering the taste of the syrup.”
Bonenberg is also optimistic for the season.
“There is still a lot of snow pack throughout maple country, the days are still not that long and the sun is not that strong,” he says. “We are not worried – if it was late March, it would be a different story, but it’s only late February – we will get cold weather again.
“We are looking forward to a productive season ahead.”