Northern Ontario maple syrup season off to a strong start
CBC
Maple syrup producers in northern Ontario say the season is off to a strong start, with sap running well in the first few weeks of tapping.
The season typically runs from mid-March to mid-April in ideal conditions. With good snowfall over the winter and recent rainfall helping moisture levels, producers say trees are producing average to above-average sap flows.
Brian Bainborough, a producer at Maple Ridge Farms on Manitoulin Island and president of the North American Maple Syrup council, said he is optimistic about an above-average season.
"We've produced syrup already, we've had three boils," Bainborough said. "We're a little over 2,000 taps on Manitoulin Island and it's a more traditional season. We started a little later than we have in the last couple years, and we've made some beautiful amber syrup."
Bill Hubbert, a maple producer in Sundridge, south of North Bay, said his operation also had a strong start.
"We started on the 12th of March and we're sitting about, well over a third actually, probably 40 per cent of our crop," he said. "It's froze up right now, but there's some more weather coming next few days. So, we feel we're in pretty good shape."
Hubbert said the ideal tapping conditions are temperatures between -5 C and 5 C.
He said last year's syrup production was average, but the season was shorter. Hubbert adds that as long as the weather doesn't warm up too quickly, he expects the season to last until mid-April.
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