News - National
Balmy spring shortens maple syrup season for some
Posted: Mar 25, 2010 7:06 AM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: Mar 25, 2010 7:06 AM
Spring has sprung in northern New England - and that's bad news for maple syrup makers, who say warm weather is stunting sugaring season in some places.
Warm weather through much of March has meant a short sap season in parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, where maple sugar season typically lasts into April.
The maple trees yield sap as daytime temperatures rise into the 40s and drop back into the 20s after dark. But this year it's been warmer at night, interrupting sap flow.
Dave Mance, of Shaftsbury, Vt., who puts out 2,500 taps each year, was expecting to bottle about 750 gallons this year. So far, he has only about 375. His trees haven't yielded sap in 1 1/2 weeks.
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