An Early Start for Maple Syrup Makers

Thursday, February 8th, 2024 -- 8:00 AM

(Margaret Faust, Wisconsin Public Radio) Since 1948, Tony Shultz’s family has farmed land in the northwest corner of Marathon County.

According to Margaret Faust with Wisconsin Public Radio, Shultz harvests vegetables, grows wheat and corn and raises pigs and beef cows at Stoney Acres Farm. His dad oversees the tapping of 2,500 maple trees on the property. Shultz has helped out since he was young.

“Although I never kept a detailed journal of making maple syrup, I always thought of it as a transition season from mid-March to mid-April,” Shultz said. “But now, I feel like you have to kind of be ready to go at any moment.”

With unseasonably warm temperatures in the 40s, farmers and enthusiasts across the state have started tapping maple trees earlier than usual. Shultz was working on his taxes the last weekend of January when he looked outside at the sunny skies. When he saw temperatures were in the 40s, he knew it was time.

“I better call Dad. We have to tap maple trees,” Shultz said. “Right now, (sap) is definitely running and this is very abnormal.” “The key word in the last 15 years I think for maple syrup season is ‘volatility,’” Shultz said. “I just think you have to be on your toes with this season.”

Shultz sees the season going two ways. If a cold spell comes, tapping halts. Shultz predicts a second or third season as the weather fluctuates. This could mean retapping trees, which requires hours of work, throwing off the rest of his routine.

“Rolling with the season is anxiety-producing to me because we live with an industrial calendar,” Shultz said. “I have to throw that calendar out the window because here we are with maple syrup season in the beginning of February.”

The other way this plays out is temperatures continue to rise. Shultz remembers the “catastrophic” season of 2012, when temperatures reached the 70s in March. Shultz is not alone.

Theresa Baroun, executive director of the Wisconsin Maple Syrup Producers Association, has heard from many other producers throughout the state who have started tapping. Baroun said producers hope to be ready for the season, and unpredictability makes it difficult.

“It is Mother Nature’s industry. I guess she really tells you, as a producer, you just have to be ready to go for the maple season,” Baroun said. Baroun also owns a 1,200-tap operation on Maple Sweet Dairy in DePere. Her parents established the farm over 60 years ago.

She has been tapping maple trees almost her whole life, but this season is unusual. “I do not remember a year being this early since I’ve been tapping trees,” Baroun said. For the first time ever, Baroun will start boiling when only half of her trees are tapped.

Usually, boiling doesn’t happen until the end of February or beginning of March.

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