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Easing into the North County's maple syrup season

Keith Otto, technician at the Cornell University Uihlein Maple Research Forest, monitors the season's first boil near Lake Placid
Adam Wild
Keith Otto, technician at the Cornell University Uihlein Maple Research Forest, monitors the season's first boil near Lake Placid

The recent mild snap allowed some maple producers to get an early start producing syrup last week. But a Lake Placid maple expert says smaller producers might want to wait for a longer thaw before firing up their sugarhouses.

Adam Wild, director of the Uihlein Maple Research Forest, near Lake Placid, says he and his crew have spent most of the winter installing and inspecting miles of maple sap collection vacuum tubing in preparation for the upcoming maple season. He says last week’s thaw was a pleasant surprise.

A plume of maple steam rises from Cornell University's Uihlein Maple Research Forest, near Lake Placid.
Adam Wild
A plume of maple steam rises from Cornell University's Uihlein Maple Research Forest, near Lake Placid.

Wild says last year was an excellent season for many maple syrup producers around the North Country, northern Vermont and Canada.  He says at Uihlein Maple Research Forest they added more taps and produced over 3,000 gallons of syrup, making 2022 their best year ever.  He’s hoping for ideal weather conditions this spring – a slow thaw, and temperatures in the low 40’s during the day and upper 20’s at night.