Maple syrup producers hopeful for promising season

Shaw's Maple Syrup Sugar Bush and Pancake House welcomed some families with a sweet start to their March Break.

The maple syrup season began unusually early this year, and Tom Shaw, the owner of Shaw's Maple Syrup, says it's been one of the best starts he's ever seen.

"We made 200 gallons of syrup in February, which is just unheard of for us. Typically, we would make 10 or 15 gallons in February if we even made any in February," Shaw said.

Shaw is optimistic that this is just the start of a great season and is waiting for the weather to warm up to tap more of the sweet stuff.

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According to John Williams, the executive director of the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers' Association, the season looks promising, but it's entirely dependent on the weather.

"Those springs that most people really start to complain about, 'when is it ever going to end,' 'when will it warm up,'" that's perfect for us, and we still have time to have that, especially as we get into this weekend and next week," Williams stated.

The Williams Farm producer in Wyebridge added the amount of sap is dependent on location as much as the weather.

"In the past week, we didn't get any sap at all but operations that have bushes that face south, a lot of them were getting sap flows, but our bushes face north, so we've been slow, but we're really hopeful that we'll still have a good season," Williams said.

Typically, the most considerable volumes of syrup for Williams' operation come at the end of March and the beginning of April, and he's hoping for the same this season.

Meanwhile, both producers are looking forward to Maple Weekend, which begins on April 1.