- This is Mark Isselhardt,
Maple Specialist with the University of Vermont Extension.
And this is another Vermont Maple Minute.
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, or NASS,
has released the crop totals for the 2020 maple season.
People familiar with maple sugaring might remember
that it takes a approximately 40 gallons of sap
to make one gallon of syrup.
This ratio is not fixed however,
as sap sweetness can vary
within a day, year, or between years.
Generally speaking, sap sweetness begins low,
rises to a high point somewhere in the middle of the season,
and then drops to another low point
at the end of the season.
In 2020, many Vermont sugar makers
reported sap sweetness being below average,
even though temperatures were good for ample sap flow.
Part of the NASS survey
asks sugar makers about sap sweetness.
On average, Vermont sugar makers needed 52 gallons of sap
to make a gallon of syrup.
Other states that saw lower sap sweetness
were New Hampshire and Pennsylvania
that needed 59 and 62 gallons of sap
to make a gallon of syrup respectively.
The state with producers
reporting the sweetest sap was Maine,
needing only 37 gallons,
and Wisconsin, 39 gallons to make a gallon of syrup.
In general, sap sweetness
is controlled by individual tree genetics,
some trees are just sweeter than others,
climate, access to abundant sunlight, and tree size.
Careful forest management planning
can help maximize the sap sweetness and forest health.
This is Mark Isselhardt,
Maple Specialist with the University of Vermont Extension.
And this has been another Vermont Maple Minute.