Maple syrup is not just for pancakes anymore.
There is maple candy, maple popcorn, maple
jelly and even maple pepper. If
those — and of course maple syrup — sound like “sweet” treats you might want to
try, I highly encourage you to find a nearby sugarhouse taking part in upcoming
“Maple Weekend” events.
Held March 17
and 18, and then again March 24 and 25,
Maple Weekend is held across the state. There are 177 maple farms across New York state set to open up their sugarhouses to show people just how real maple syrup is
made, and of course offer some tasty samples.
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| Some smaller maple producers still use buckets to collect sap. |
Here in New York state, maple
is more than just something sweet. It’s an important, growing part of our
agriculture economy.
In fact, New York is second in the nation — just behind
Vermont — when it comes to maple syrup production. With the largest number of tappable trees in
the United States, there is great potential for us to become number one.
As chair of the Senate
Agriculture Committee, I have been working in recent years to support the
growth of New York’s maple industry in a number of ways, including by securing
money for important research.
I will also be advocating for a new piece of legislation called “Maple One,” which has the ambitious goal of overtaking
Vermont as America’s leading maple producer by issuing permits to allow farmers
to tap maple trees on certain state-owned lands.
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| Maple products at the New York State Fair |
The upcoming “Maple Weekend”
events are the perfect way for people to not only sample everything maple
syrup, but also to help support those who help put it on our tables. I hope
you’ll take part in this sweet tradition.
For more information, on
“Maple Weekend”, including a list of the participating sugarhouses nearest to
you, visit the New York State Maple Producers Association website at www.nysmaple.com.
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