End of season arrived for more and more producers over the past week while a few holdouts were still boiling over the last few days. 5 out of 18 producers reporting had not made at least 75% of their expected crop. Some of those planned to continue to boil. Several sugar makers have reported that temperatures were close but not close enough to get a decent run of sap. Reports of off-flavored syrup being produced began to come in over the past week as well as many of the other challenges associated with late season sugaring (trouble filtering, low quality sap, etc.).
In Rutland County a sugar maker reported the season had come to an end. Over the past week sap had been running “just a little”. The characterized their sugarbush as having temperatures “about the same” as those around them. Sap sweetness was at 1.5% (considered “above average” for this location/time). Total produced had reached 75% of the anticipated crop. This producer added:
“I think I missed the last survey. Our last boil was 4/7. Sugar content wasn’t bad at 1.5 but was continually dropping. We did not make a full crop but it wasn’t the season. Tubing is getting old and needs replacing. Just too plagued with leaks. Could not get the vacuum up quick enough, had a leak in the flue pan that shut us down for 3 days while sap was running well. Anything that could go wrong did. Sap sweetness for the season was excellent. 2.5 for a long time and then 2 right thru to just recently. Syrup flavor was excellent. Made more golden than in several years. The niter was the thickest I have seen in a lot of years. Just like sand dunes in the front pan and draw off boxes. Pure white at the beginning finishing up it was dark and gooey with little grit to it and definitely diminished in quantity. We had good weather at the beginning of the week and the sap had only a slight cloud to it but we just couldn’t get enough volume. Started pulling taps and are almost finished. Temps are definitely too warm now. 65 by noon almost everyday with no freezing temps at night 4/12. The frogs have been talking for about a week. No big chorus this year though. We do need rain so maybe they are waiting for that. The length of the overall season seemed like normal. Started two days earlier than last year 2/22. Didn’t really get going for a week week and a half though. Sugar content was good from the start.”
In Sullivan County, NH a producer with a sugarbush “colder” than those around them saw the season come to an end as of 4/12. The date of the last boil was “about average”. No sap flow was observed over the past week. Sap that had been collected earlier was 1.25% or less (considered “below average”). Syrup produced was Amber/Rich with Sour off-flavor produced during the last three days. Total production reached 96% of the anticipated crop as of 4/12. This producer added:
“poor weather — either too cold or not freezing at night. Most producers around us had 100-125% crop.”
A producer in Windsor with a sugarbush that is colder than others around them has finished their season. The last boil date was “about average”. Last week sap was running “just a little”. Sap sweetness had dropped to 1.25% or less (considered “above average” for this location/time). Syrup produced was Amber/Rich. Two off-flavors were identified: Buddy on last day of boiling) and defoamer “early on”. Total production reached 95% of the anticipated total. This producer added:
“Seemed short, but sap sweetness was up so everything was faster.”
In Windsor County a sugar maker reported the season had ended. This producer characterized the temperatures in their sugarbush as being “colder” than the others around them. The date of last boil was “about average”. Over the past week sap had been running “just a little”. Sap sweetness during that time was 1.5% which this producer stated was “significantly above average” for this location/time. Syrup produced was Dark/Robust. Total production had reached 94% of the anticipated crop. This producer added:
“We didn’t catch much of the really early runs but pretty much made of for it later on. The sap didn’t run very fast but the above average sweetness really helped.”
A second Windsor County producer reported the season had come to an end. The date of the last boil was “about average”. “Just a little” sap flow was observed over the past week. Sap sweetness was 1.5% (considered “above average”) during that time. Syrup produced during that time was Amber/Rich with Buddy/Metabolism and Defoamer off-flavor (“too much used”). Total production had reached 94% of the anticipated total as of 4/11. This producer added:
“Underwhelming volumes in runs, but sap sweetness was high. Very close to our goal of 1/2 gal per tap.”
In Addison County a sugar maker reported the season had come to a close and their last boil data was “about average”. Sap was not running over the past week. Sap sweetness of the sap that had been collected most recently was 1.25% or less (considered “above average” for this location/time). Syrup produced most recently was Amber/Rich with no off-flavors detected. Total production has reached 100% of the anticipated crop.
A second Addison County sugar maker reported that sap was running at “average” rates over the past week. Temperatures in the sugarbush are “warmer” than sugarbushes around them. Sap sweetness was at 1.5% (considered “average” for this location/time). Syrup produced was Dark/Robust with no off-flavors. Total production has reached 95% of the anticipated total as of 4/12.
In Orange County a sugar maker with a sugarbush that has average temperatures “about average” ended the season over the last week. The last boil date was “about average” for this operation. Last week sap was running “just a little”. Sap sweetness was 1.25% or less (considered “about average” for this location/time). Syrup produced was Amber/Rich with Buddy off-flavor detected. Total production reached 100% of the anticipated crop. This producer added:
“Average niter/sand for us at our location. Less sap volumes but better sugar. Late snowfall seemed to slow sap flows especially in cooler woods with north or east aspects. Early tapping seemed to be a good option this year as long as vacuum levels were maintained to keep tap holes clean. Looking forward to next year!”
In Chittenden County a sugar maker reported that sap had been running “just a little” over the past week and sap sweetness was at 1.25% or less (considered “below average”). They shared that temperatures in their sugarbush were “about the same” as those around them. Syrup produced was Amber/Rich. Total production had reached 75% of the anticipated crop as of 4/12.
A Lamoille County sugar maker reported ending the season over the past week. This sugarbush has temperatures “warmer” than those around it. The date of last boil was “about average” for this operation. There was no sap flow observed over the last week. Sap sweetness was “average” compared to long term averages at this location. Last syrup produced was Dark/Robust with Buddy off-flavor detected. Total production reached 100% of the anticipated crop. This producer added:
“Season completed. Most ever, 65 gallons from 175 taps. All Dark except for final two boiling’s: Very Dark. Flavor very good all season.”
A Lamoille County producer with a sugarbush “colder” than others around them reported that the date of last boil was “about average”. Over the past week sap had been running at “average” rates. Sap sweetness of the sap collected during that time was 1.5% (considered “above average” for this location/time). Syrup produced was Golden/Delicate with no off-flavors detected. Total production reached 72% of the anticipated crop. This producer added:
“Season ended on the 13th. This was our worst season for production in our 10th season. Just couldn’t get a sustained sap run at any time during the season. Days that I thought we should be having gushers it barely ran in spite of high vacuum. Sap sweetness was higher than normal which helped. Syrup quality was excellent with great tasting Golden and Amber syrup made until the end. Didn’t make a single barrel of Dark syrup this year. Well, there is always next year. In spite of it all I wouldn’t do anything else!”
In Franklin County, a sugar maker whose sugarbush has temperatures “about the same” as those around them, reported that sap was flowing at “average” rates over the last week. Sap sweetness has been “average” for this location. Total production had reached 70% of the anticipate total. This producer added:
“Lots of sugar sand last week!!!”
A second Franklin County sugar maker reported the season had ended over the past week and the temperatures in their sugarbush were “warmer” than their neighbors. The last boil date was “about average” this season. Last week sap wasn’t running “at all”. The most recent sap was 1.5% (considered “above average”). Syrup produced was Dark/Robust with no off-flavors detected. Total production reached 100% of the anticipated crop. This sugar maker added:
“The sap is gone, and the wood is too, so I guess we’ll call it a season. No big runs, but it was steady and still we had time in between to take time off and check lines or other things. Made more Amber Rich than in past years, so we’re pleased. Syrup as a whole filtered well because of the niter (using cone filters). Last boil was April 8th. It has been a pleasure to do this survey. Now time to clean and pull spouts!”
A third sugar maker in Franklin County (with a “warmer” sugarbush relative to their neighbors) reports the season has ended. The date of the last boil was “about average” for this location. The sap had been running “just a little” over the past week and sap sweetness was at 1.25% or less during that time. That sap sweetness was considered “below average” for that location/time. Syrup produced was Golden/Delicate with Buddy off-flavor. Total production had reached 91% of the anticipated crop as of 4/12. This producer added:
“Excellent crop for flavor and color. Maybe one of the nicest in years. We shut down when the flavor started going buddy/fermented/sour.”
In Orleans County a sugar maker reported that sap had been running at “average” rates over the past week and that their sugarbush’s temperatures are “about the same” as others around them. Sap sweetness was at 2.25% during the last week (considered “average” for this location/time). Syrup produced was Amber/Rich with no off-flavors detected. Total production had reached 65% as of 4/12. This producer added:
“We have been waiting for warmer weather so the sap will run and now we are getting weather that is too warm and dry for good sap runs.”
In Caledonia County a sugar maker with a sugarbush “colder” than those around them saw “average” rates of sap flow over the past week. Sap sweetness was 2.5% or higher over that time (considered “above average”). Syrup produced was Amber/Rich with no off-flavors detected. Total production has reached 50% of the anticipated crop. This producer added:
“just too cold and too much snow for the sap to run well this season.”
In Essex County a sugar maker reported that the season had ended and the date of the last boil was “the latest ever for our operation”. This operations sugarbush has temperatures that are “colder” than those around them. Sap had been running “very well” over the past week and sap sweetness was at 2.25% (considered “above average” for this location/time). Syrup produced was Amber/Rich with no off-flavors detected. Total production had reached 50% of the anticipated crop as of 4/12. This producer added:
“Just started doing well the past week.”
A second Essex County sugar maker, with a sugarbush that is “colder” than those around them, reported that sap had been running “just a little” and “very well” over the past week. Sap sweetness was 2.25% over that time (considered “above average” for this location/time). Syrup produced was Amber/Rich with no off-flavors detected. Total production has reached 71% of the anticipated crop as of 4/12. This producer added:
“We had a big run on Easter and into Monday, the sap has since slowed down. Our crop is at about 70 pct of average and I suspect we are only a few days from the end. While the flavor hasn’t changed the sap is slowing with the warmup.”
In Quebec, a sugar maker south of Montréal whose sugarbush is “colder” than those around them reported that sap was running “very well” over the past week. Sap sweetness was 1.25% or less during that time (considered “average” for this location/time). Syrup produced was Amber/Rich with no off-flavors detected. Total production had reached 92% of the anticipated crop. This producer added:
“Thank god for Easter weekend saved season.”
Vermont Maple Bulletin 
I’m located in Lamoille County with 9700 taps, and have been sugaring here for 44 years. Our final boil was 4/12 and we ended with 73% of a crop. This year was unusual in a few ways. Our first boil was 2/16 which is the earliest ever. We boiled for two days following that producing over 500 gallons which is by far the most we have ever made that early in the season. Then, we waited in too cold weather from 2/21 until 3/18 when we finally boiled again. That is the longest wait between boils we have ever had. The sap sugar content for all of March ranged between 2.6 and 2.9 which is quite high for us, and helped mitigate the slow runs we were having with temperatures so often too close to freezing both day and night. We never had a gusher run, and though that happens some years, it isn’t very common. We ended up with 73% of our production being light, and only 4% dark. I know that generally speaking hot weather and spoiled sap make for dark syrup, but even though the sap looked like lemonade at the end, we were still making amber grade with no noticeable off-flavor which was surprising. Our season ended abruptly with the 70’s of the last couple days. It’s our worst production year since 2012 when we experienced a freak heat wave in mid March.
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My sugar shack is in Waterbury Center at about 1200’ elevation. My last boil was 4/11/23, producing Dark variety. The season was surprisingly great this year. I made about 125% of expected production. The early runs (late February) produced Golden syrup. The runs that restarted in mid March were Amber. The last runs the end of March and through April were Dark. The sugar content in March was 2%.
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