KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — An unseasonably warm February is said to be making things difficult for maple syrup producers in Michigan and across the country.
Because cold weather is needed to control sap flows, producers are now in an unscheduled mad dash to tap trees for maple sugar, which gets boiled into maple syrup.
“This wild fluctuation is concerning because we’ve never seen this before,” Jenny Brenneman, who is with the Kalamazoo Nature Center, said on Monday. “We’re seeing spring arrive three weeks early this year.”
The early flows are not expected to affect the quality of the syrup, but it could affect the quantity.
“The sugar should still taste good, it’s just that there’s not going to be potentially as much coming if the tree goes from winter to spring really fast,” Brenneman said. “You won’t be able to harvest as much.”
Some locations known for bone-chilling winters saw temperatures in the 60s and 70s last week.
