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- This is Mark Isselhardt,

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Maple Specialist with the
University of Vermont Extension.

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And this is another Vermont Maple Minute.

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The USDA National Agricultural
Statistics Service, or NASS,

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has released the crop totals
for the 2020 maple season.

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People familiar with maple
sugaring might remember

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that it takes a approximately
40 gallons of sap

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to make one gallon of syrup.

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This ratio is not fixed however,

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as sap sweetness can vary

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within a day, year, or between years.

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Generally speaking, sap
sweetness begins low,

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rises to a high point somewhere
in the middle of the season,

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and then drops to another low point

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at the end of the season.

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In 2020, many Vermont sugar makers

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reported sap sweetness
being below average,

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even though temperatures
were good for ample sap flow.

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Part of the NASS survey

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asks sugar makers about sap sweetness.

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On average, Vermont sugar
makers needed 52 gallons of sap

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to make a gallon of syrup.

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Other states that saw lower sap sweetness

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were New Hampshire and Pennsylvania

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that needed 59 and 62 gallons of sap

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to make a gallon of syrup respectively.

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The state with producers

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reporting the sweetest sap was Maine,

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needing only 37 gallons,

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and Wisconsin, 39 gallons
to make a gallon of syrup.

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In general, sap sweetness

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is controlled by individual tree genetics,

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some trees are just sweeter than others,

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climate, access to abundant
sunlight, and tree size.

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Careful forest management planning

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can help maximize the sap
sweetness and forest health.

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This is Mark Isselhardt,

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Maple Specialist with the
University of Vermont Extension.

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And this has been another
Vermont Maple Minute.