By MATT LINDSEY

Frigid temperatures during February in St. Lawrence County have set the stage for a promising sugaring year, but Mother Nature will still need to cooperate in order for local maple producers to have a profitable season.

“It’s been tough going…with all the snow it makes it difficult,” said Charlie Hitchman, who runs the maple-learning farm at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Canton and has drawn maple sap for the past nine years.

“The key is to be ready…the season doesn't last long,” said Margaret Finen of Finen Maple Products in Norwood.

Hitchman said sap runs had been delayed by the cold but that they were still working daily getting lines run and making replacements and repairs to existing lines.

Hitchman said the area needed some warm weather to “wake up the sap” and get the process going.

Ideal sugaring weather is warm days of 32 degrees or more and cold nights below freezing.

“Throw in a snow or rain storm which keeps the moisture levels where they should be…and we will be good to go,” he said.

The farm runs about 1,200 lines which can take from days to weeks to tap depending on weather. Much of the sap is boiled down and sold in bulk. Some is jugged and sold in gallons and half gallons at the office, 2043B State Highway 68 in Canton.

Preparedness

At the beginning of last year, most maple producers anticipated a strong season, but Finen says that was not the case for them.

It was slow moving to start this year at Finen Maple Products in Norwood.

“It’s been tough with snow causing slow trekking through the woods to check on lines and sap not moving due to cold temperatures,” she said.

She said when the weather cooperates you need to be ready because the trees can bleed quickly depending on what the weather does.

Growing Industry

When asked about people getting involved in the maple industry, Hitchman said that “the numbers are not shrinking for sure.”

He said many hobbyists are turning their setups into commercial ones and that some current producers are “going a little bigger” and expanding their operations.

“Once it’s in your blood…it’s there,” Hitchman said.

During the upcoming Maple Weekends March 21-22 and 28-29, Hitchman said that people should stop in to see the many maple producers in the county and to learn about and see how the process is done.

“Most of the time they will invite the public right in and show you what sugaring is all about,” he said.

Sugaring Options

Finen and her husband, Jim, tap about 3,000 trees on 56 acres but say there is room to grow.

“It’s somewhere around 80 percent of trees in the state are untapped,” Margaret said.

According to Margaret, the state is giving tax breaks for people willing to open their land to lease for sugaring use.

For people who want to tap their trees but don't have the means to boil it down, they can take their sap to Finen Maple Products, who will boil it down and split the cost and profit with them.

There are grants out there for equipment, but in the meantime Jim can process sap for them as well as install lines, she said.

“This way it is not as much out of pocket for people looking to get involved in sugaring,” Margaret said.

A tree tapping ceremony is planned Saturday, March 14 at Finen Maple Farm and “Maple Weekends” are set for March 21-22 and March 28-29 across the state.