Statistics Canada Reports: Maple Syrup Production Dropped 10 Per Cent

Dec 17, 2012

Canadian Maple Syrup Production Drops In 2012

One of Canada’s hailed food delights - maple syrup experienced a drop in production in 2012 by almost 10 per cent.

According to Statistics Canada reports, farmers produced 7.9 million gallons of maple syrup, including sugar and butter – which is down 8 per cent from 2011.

Quebec accounts for 92 per cent of that production, and the province’s total production was down off 5.6 percent from last year.

In Ontario, the production was down 54.3 percent due to unfavourable weather conditions, resulting in a shorter season which attributed to the province’s low yields.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.