AUGUSTA, Maine — With the assistance of a swarm of young children, Gov. Paul LePage tapped the looming maple tree on Tuesday at the governor’s mansion in Augusta, marking the ceremonial start of the state’s lucrative maple syrup season.
Maine’s the third-largest maple industry in the U.S., generating $17.3 million in annual income for the nearly 600 people it employs, according to a University of Maine study funded by the state and the Maine Maple Producers Association.
On Tuesday, LePage said he believes there’s room for even more growth in the bustling industry.
“We have the capacity to outperform Vermont,” he said.
That state leads the nation in maple syrup production, with 1.3 million gallons of the sweet, amber fluid produced in 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s more than double Maine’s yield of 545,000 gallons produced last year, valued at $17.9 million. (New York beat Maine for the No. 2 spot again in 2014, but only by about 1,000 gallons).
Industry experts agree with LePage that Maine could become the maple syrup king.
“We have the trees. If we decide to get organized, get more young people and develop the market … Maine could do anything it wants,” said Kathryn Hopkins, a maple products specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, in an interview with the Bangor Daily News last year.
Maine’s maple syrup season runs from mid-January through late March or early April, according to a USDA survey. However, the sap doesn’t start running in earnest until March, with the arrival of above-freezing temperatures. Because of the colossal snowfall and cold weather seen this winter, this year’s season is expected to be a short one, according to the Maine Maple Producers Association.
The Blaine House tree tapping serves as an annual booster for Maine Maple Sunday, scheduled this year for March 22. The event, organized by the state’s maple industry, sees about 100 sugar shacks open for visitors to learn about syrup production and, of course, spend lots of money on maple sugar products.
The Maine Maple Producers Association estimates that more than 100,000 people will attend a Maine Maple Sunday event this year.
The industry this year is promoting a new syrup grading system that complies with international standards. The new grades were approved by the Legislature in 2013 and are being implemented this year. The grades describe syrup based on its color and flavor profile, ranging from Grade A Golden, defined by law as having “a delicate taste” and a “light to more-pronounced golden color,” to Grade A Very Dark, defined as having a “very strong taste.”
LePage said the new grading system should help consumers.
“It’s great,” he said. “It’s a big move forward. Anytime you can standardize, that’s a good thing.”
Follow Mario Moretto on Twitter at @riocarmine.
