NEWFIELD, Maine — One of the challenges Maine maple producers are facing in this mild weather pattern is deciding when to start tapping.
The weather is one of the drivers of that decision. If the month of January is seriously cold, it's an easy one; wait until mid-February.
It's been chilly lately, but not as cold as it often is this time of year. Producers look for a window that usually lasts about six to eight weeks, when morning low temperatures are below freezing but temperatures in the afternoon rise several degrees above freezing. That will get the sap flowing.
"This whole industry runs on that temperature window. It doesn't matter where you are. It won't flow if it's below freezing, and if it gets too warm, it will literally stop your season in its tracks... and when we get abnormally winters like this, picking that window becomes increasingly difficult," Ashley Gerri, a maple producer in Newfield, said.
"If you miss the window (of time to tap the trees), you don't get it back later. The sap might flow, but the quality of the syrup we make isn't going to be what we would sell," added Gerri, who has followed winter weather and maple trends over the years in western Maine.
Maple producers faced similar challenges last year. January 2020 was among the warmest on record in Maine. Weeks later, the pandemic began, also affecting the industry across the state.