BRISTOL — While the maple season likely won’t be in full swing for another month or two, the unusually warm freeze-and-thaw cycle in December enabled some county sugarmakers to already begin collecting and boiling sap. 

That’s certainly been the case for the team at Heffernan Family Sugarworks in Starksboro, which started tapping its trees on Dec. 5.

“It is the earliest that we’ve ever started tapping but only by a week,” sugarmaker Bill Heffernan told the Independent. “A year ago, we started tapping in December. We have seen other sugarmakers that started tapping in November, so we looked at their numbers and saw that it wasn’t hurting their production. It was actually increasing it.”

Heffernan said it can be challenging for the sugarworks to find workers. Starting the season in December ensures the team has enough time to put out all of its taps before trees start producing sap. 

“We have over 50,0000 taps, and labor is a real issue, trying to find help,” he explained. 

The earlier approach has been particularly productive for the Starksboro sugarbush this winter, as warmer daytime temperatures had sap flowing throughout December. The sugarworks had collected over 43,000 gallons of sap by the end of the month. 

Maple sugaring kicks off when temperatures drop below freezing at night and rise into the 40s during the day, creating a freeze-thaw cycle that causes the maple sap to flow. Traditionally, that freeze-thaw cycle occurs in March and April, but an abnormally warm December had sap flowing earlier this winter. 

Heffernan said the sugarworks has made syrup in December and early January before, though this year the operation has more taps out than usual, as little snow cover has made it easier to get around the woods over the past month. 

This winter, the team collected enough sap to boil a few times throughout the month of December. When the Independent spoke with Heffernan this past Friday, the sugarworks had already made over 1,500 gallons of syrup. 

THE MAPLE SEASON is underway at Heffernan Family Sugarworks in Starksboro. The sugarworks team began tapping in early December and has made over 1,500 gallons of syrup in the past month. Here, sugarmaker Brian Heffernan peers into a steam evaporator at the Starksboro operation.
Independent photo/Steve James

Heffernan said there’s no noticeable difference in the taste of syrup made earlier in the season compared to what’s produced during the conventional season. 

The sugarmaker said tapping trees for a longer period of time doesn’t appear to put any additional strain on the trees, and that the Starksboro operation prioritizes tree health. 

“Every tree gets one tap. Regardless of the size of the tree, we only put one tap in it, and we do a lot of maintenance in our woods to keep our trees healthy,” he said. 

OTHER OPERATIONS

The Starksboro sugarworks isn’t the only one to start its season in the past month. Heffernan said he knows of a handful of other producers that have already begun tapping. 

“Everybody is kind of following the trends to tap early just because of the conditions of working in the woods,” he said. “We’re on the side of a mountain, and it’s easier to tap when there’s one to six inches of snow.” 

While the maple season is underway for some local sugarmakers, other, smaller operations in the county haven’t started tapping just yet. 

Hillsboro Sugarworks in Starksboro hadn’t started tapping as of Monday and did not plan to start immediately. Hillsboro Sugarworks puts out around 16,000 taps and typically starts boiling in March. 

In Lincoln, Twin Maple Sugarworks is also waiting to start its season. The sugarworks has 5,200 taps and typically produces around 2,000 gallons of certified organic syrup each year. When the Independent spoke with sugarmaker Jodi Gale on Tuesday, the Twin Maple team was planning to start its season on Feb. 1 as usual.