Sap Season Flowing Sweetly for Syrup Producers

Apr 11, 2016

The mild spring has been sweet for maple syrup producers in Manitoba.

Jake Enns of Altona taps about 30 maple trees with 50 taps, typically producing about 50 gallons a day. But this year, he's collected more than he needs.

"This year was about three times as much sap as I normally get," Enns says. "I had to close taps because I just couldn't process that many gallons of sap."

Enns's pantry is stocked with jars and bottles full of his homegrown and homemade maple syrup. In his back yard, his cooker and pails are ready to go 24 hours a day during sap season. In one day, he can move 50 gallons of sap through his cooker, which will produce about a gallon and a half of syrup.

However, he only produces the syrup as a hobby for himself, and to give to friends and family, so he doesn't need the extra sap that was flowing this year. But Enns can't control the weather -- which is what he thinks caused the overflow of sap.

"My guess is the reason for it is because we had a mild winter, and the roots of the trees are not as frost-bound," he says.

Weather does play a factor in sap production: optimal sap-gathering conditions mean daytime temperatures above zero degrees Celsius, with nighttime temperatures below zero degrees Celsius.

Source : Portageonline

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