Vermont sugarmakers talk 2021 season

The sugarhouse at the Richardson Farm in Hartland, Vt., in early March. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Waiting for the right weather is a familiar thing for anyone working in agriculture, where Mother Nature is often at the helm. Part of the job is expecting the unexpected, but always being ready when the right conditions hit. 

That’s very much the case for maple sugaring operations, which depend on cold nights and warm days to make the sap run. In 2021 so far, Vermont sugarmakers have seen a later start to the season, but there’s still plenty of time for the right weather patterns to set in. 

Mary McCuaig, owner of Top Acres Farm in South Woodstock, said they had their first boil March 1, and then it was too cold for a week, delaying the second boil to March 8. They’ve made about 20% of a crop, with some locals already having stopped in to buy some Golden and Amber syrup. She isn’t worried about the slow start. 

“We could still have a good year, as some years we make more syrup in April than March,” McCuaig said. 

The cancellation of Vermont’s traditional Maple Sugar Open House Weekend was a noticeable absence this year, but the impact varies. For McCuaig, the local business keeps pressing on. 

“We are OK with no open house, as our local customers know they can still stop by to buy syrup or see the boiling with their masks on,” she said. Also, Top Acres Farm sells mostly wholesale to places like the Woodstock Inn, Billings Farm and FH Gillingham & Sons. 

At the Richardson Farm, a five-generation farm in Hartland, Reid Richardson said the sugaring operation has done about 20% of their expected crop so far. He noted the variability of the season is nothing new. Some years they’ve started sugaring in mid-February, others at mid-March, and other seasons have seen a hard stop on March 19 when it’s gotten too warm.

“It’s basically impossible to predict," Richardson said.

The syrup retail sales at the farm are steady, he said, and some local customers like to stop in at the sugarhouse. Those that do must wear a mask, and there is a three-person occupancy limit. 

The farm’s business has been steady on the whole, Richardson said.

“Our wholesale customers down in Woodstock and Quechee are definitely buying less. That's noticeable, but they haven't stopped buying syrup from us,” he said.

The farm has a large wholesale customer in New Hampshire who buys all the syrup that isn’t sold locally during the season, and that hasn’t changed. That’s the result of a 45-year relationship, Richardson said. 

A couple towns away in Barnard, the Doton Farm, a four-generation business, doesn’t have a new crop of syrup just yet, as they just finished tapping last Monday and started putting sap in their storage tank Saturday. Paul Doton grew up on his family’s farm and said his father began sugaring on the property in the late 50s or early 60s. Starting in late March is normal, because of the 1,500-foot elevation and the sugarbush facing north.  

“We made most of our syrup last year in late March, early April,” Doton said. “Of course, every year is different."

This year, many visitors who would usually come to buy syrup in person — but couldn’t travel because of the pandemic — have been ordering from the farm online. Doton said those sales have been “quite robust” in recent weeks, and they’ve been able to complete them using some of last year’s crop the farm kept. 

“I’ve even discovered a thing called Venmo, because we don't use credit cards,” he said. 

As for local sales, Doton said that part of the business is “about on par” with a couple of years ago. 

Vermont remains the number-one U.S. producer of maple syrup, and regionally, of course, the timing of the season varies. Richardson likes to track other regions on Facebook. At this point, the Midwest is about wrapped up, and Pennsylvania and New York are at a similar stage as Vermont, though slightly ahead of the Green Mountains, Richardson noted.

“We're just patiently waiting for Mother Nature to let us have sweet stuff," he said.

— Gareth Henderson