New York State Sees Huge Maple Season in 2016

From the USDA
 
The Northeastern region of the United Sates saw a “favorable” maple season in 2016, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
 
The region, which encompasses New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont, saw maple syrup production in 2016 of 3.78 million gallons, up 27 percent from 2015’s production of 2.98 million gallons.
 
Vermont remained the top maple state in the Northeastern Region and the nation, producing 47.3 percent of the United States’ maple syrup, a record-high production.
 

Sap collecting buckets in Lewis County

New York remained number two in the region and nation with 707,000 gallons of syrup produced. Last year’s 601,000 gallons was the most in the state in 70 years.
 
Massachusetts also reported a record- high production for 2016.
 
Taps in the Northeastern Region totaled 10.8 million, up 5 percent from last year and accounted for 86 percent of the nation’s maple taps, with Pennsylvania reporting a record high number of taps in 2016. New York had 2,515 taps in 2016, up from 2,310 in 2015.
 
Producers were encouraged to tap earlier this season by the warmer-than-normal temperatures. The earliest sap flow reported was Jan. 1 in Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia.
 

The number of taps was up in each of the states in the region, except for New Hampshire which was down from last year.
 
The season in the Northeast Region averaged 35 days, 10 days longer than in 2015. On average, the U.S. season lasted 33 days, compared with 26 days in 2015.
 
The average equivalent price per gallon for maple syrup varies widely across the Region depending on the percentage sold retail, wholesale, or bulk.
 
The 2015 all sales equivalent price per gallon in Connecticut averaged $87.20, up $16.30; Maine averaged $28.00, down $3.50; Massachusetts averaged $50.50, down $5.80; New Hampshire averaged $59.40, up $1.60; New York averaged $42, up $2.30; Pennsylvania averaged $31.90, down $3.20, and Vermont averaged $330, unchanged from last year.
 
The high percentage of bulk sales in Pennsylvania, Vermont and Maine kept average prices below the other states.