Danielle M. Crosier – Vermont Country Magazine.
In 2024 alone, more than 3,000 Vermont sugarhouses contributed a total of 3,108,000 gallons of maple syrup to the United States economy.
Data obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service have indicated that Vermont’s contribution consisted of more than 53% of production, nationwide.
New York, which came in second place, contributed a total of 846,000 gallons. Maine, which came in third place, contributed 701,000. The runners-up include Wisconsin, with 458,000 gallons. Michigan, at 200,000 gallons; Pennsylvania, at 182,000 gallons; and New Hampshire, at 140,000 gallons also made significant contributions to national production. However, in recent years, the industry has been struggling to adapt to a changing climate and a changing environmental landscape.
The issues are multifold and interwoven, and involve the decline of sap production, species health and resiliency, and habitat change.
Of primary concern is the fact that the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is considered a “climate sensitive” species. With warmer and milder winters affecting the timing and extent of the sap flow, and the sugar content it contains – coupled with sporadic episodes of deep freeze that damage the root system – there is talk within the industry about how to prepare.
Issues such as late frost events that occur after budding, excessive rain in the spring, droughts in the summer, and air pollution further compound the problem – often favoring the more climate-resilient beech over the maple.
The threat of predation by the invasive Asian long-horned beetle, which is not yet established in the State of Vermont (which, though not yet established in Vermont, has decimated hardwoods like maple in New York and Massachusetts), is also of pressing concern.
There is hope that a recent grant to Danby’s Smokey House Center Living Lab, an applied and collaborative research endeavor focused on building a “better understanding of the ecological, economic, and social impacts of farming and forestry,” might help to build a more solid future for the industry.
The three-year, $500,000 United States Department of Agriculture’s Acer Access and Development Program grant aims to promote the domestic maple syrup industry by funding research, education, and sustainability initiatives related to production.
“With the grant, Smokey House Center will launch its Climate Adaptive Maple Program, a groundbreaking research and education project designed to address the challenges facing the maple syrup industry in the context of climate change,” explained Danielle Zimmerman, development and communications coordinator for the Center.
The program will investigate two critical questions – how different climate-adaptive forest management strategies impact the long-term production and resilience of sugarbushes (groups of sugar maples), and how various sap extraction techniques affect the long-term ability of sugarbushes to respond to climate disturbances while maintaining syrup yields.
Lee Allen, emeritus director of the Forest Productivity Cooperative at North Carolina State University and partner on the Climate Adaptive Maple Program, believes that maple syrup producers are in need of guidance based on evidence, data projections, and sustainability goals.
“Current sugarbush management guidelines are based on decades of data and experience,” said Allen. “However, with recent changes in operational practices like increased sap extraction, single-species stand composition, lower stem densities, changing climate conditions, and increasing pressures from invasive pests, many producers are questioning whether current guidelines will still optimize short-term sugar production and long-term sustainability of their sugarbushes.”
Despite the urgency, many producers are hesitant to adopt adaptive management practices due to concerns about potential short-term decreases in production and logistical challenges.
“This program aims to overcome these barriers by providing actionable insights and data, helping the industry adapt sustainably and thrive amid a changing climate,” explained Zimmerman. “To conduct this research, two research and education sugarbushes – totaling approximately 7,000 taps – will be established on Smokey House Center’s property.”
Goodrich Maple Farm of Cabot will be designing and installing tubing systems to meet both production and data collection objectives. The addition of four research advisor partners – Tony D’Amato and Ali Kosiba of the University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, Joe Orefice of the Yale School of the Environment, and Peter Smallidge of Cornell’s Arnot Forest will ensure mentorship throughout all stages of the project. And, a local syrup producer will be brought in to maintain and collect sap from the sugarbushes.
“Because this project is on Smokey House Center’s property, which is under conservation easement, we envision being able to continue treatments and measurements for decades rather than years,” said Allen. “The longevity will allow us to quantify the impacts of year-to-year variations in weather conditions on sugar maple growth, sap production, and seasonal carbon dynamics.”
The project at Smokey House Center will include distinct silvicultural treatments, each representing different approaches to sugarbush forest management. Additionally, four sap extraction techniques – high, medium, low, and no extraction – will be tested.
Monitoring sites will track a range of indicators, including annual starch levels in individual trees, sap production, sugar content, tree growth, and long-term stand health.
“These factors will be tracked each sap season, ultimately coalescing into a long-term study that will help producers better understand how to manage sugarbushes in the face of climate impacts,” said Zimmerman, adding that the program will also serve as a regional education resource, similar to other Smokey House projects.
The program will offer annual field training and workshops for maple producers, foresters, and other industry professionals – and, the addition of an annual internship will further contribute by training local youth in these adaptive strategies. Smokey House staff hope that these measures will assist in developing the next generation of maple industry professionals.
“In addition to annual measurements of tree growth and sugar production, we will seek additional funds to quantify the seasonal dynamics of tree growth, foliage development and senescence, and carbohydrates production, use, and storage,” added Allen.
“This information will allow us to develop models that estimate the amount of ‘surplus’ carbohydrate that can be safely extracted from a stand each year – while supporting the long-term sugar production, health, and sustainability of a sugarbush.”
For the past 50 years, Smokey House Center has worked to “maintain a working landscape that promotes sustainable agricultural and forestry practices.” The more recent addition of the Living Lab has opened up the nearly 5,000 acre property to applied research endeavors such as this. Seeking long-term collaborations with farmers, foresters, and scientists are aimed at helping communities adapt to the climate crisis.
Smokey House Center will be hosting an educational Maple Open House on March 22. Visit smokeyhouse.org for more information.
Danielle Crosier is a landlocked mermaid who found her way to Vermont by accident. She is a wife and mother, a former technical writer (10 years), former educator (19 years), and glass artisan with a background in marketing and strategic management. Her interests, though, lie mainly in studying and understanding systems and improving the lives of those around her. She also loves spending time with her precious children and their significant others, organizing, learning about social geography, creative endeavors, experimenting with various cuisines, and exploring the world around her.
