“We weren’t sure, but I kind of figured we were going to have a good year,” said Elgin-based maple syrup producer Chris Anderson.
The sugar season certainly did not start as expected. After several years of early sap runs in mid-February, many area producers were well into March before recording their first boil.
Sustained winter temperatures delayed preparations and made tapping more difficult, as the cold seeped well into the trees. This frigid weather may have added a bit of protection as well, as the season continued well beyond a warm spell in early March. By mid-month, concern was growing over low yields, fluctuating temperatures, and difficult conditions. Then, suddenly, the sap began to run like a faucet.
“This was the best season we have had,” said Anderson, who admits he is somewhat surprised by the outcome. “I thought the last day we would drop below a light, but we were still holding on. We made all extra light and light this year,” he said, noting everything just seemed to line up, eventually.
Anderson’s sugar bush is located on what locals refer to as the hogsback. He has been boiling with help from Rick McKellar for over 25 years. They experienced no equipment failures this year, and the sap they collected was extra sweet, right up to their last boil during the first weekend in April.
David Hall, a syrup producer in Lac-Brome and president of the Montérégie Est maple region with the Producteurs et Productrices Acéricoles du Québec (PPAQ), said that while the season was unpredictable, the sugar content in the sap has been quite decent at around 1.8 per cent compared with 1.1 to 1.3 per cent last year. The higher levels, coupled with reverse osmosis (RO) technology meant that many producers were able to maximize syrup yields.
It’s a good thing, because the cost to produce the golden elixir was higher for anyone relying on an oil-fired evaporator or gas-powered vacuum systems and RO machines, due to the sharp increase in oil prices that coincided with peak syrup production. According to Hall, roughly 50 per cent of syrup producers are using oil to heat their evaporators, which will no doubt impact their bottom line.
Hall also addressed the growing scandal swirling around Saint-Chrysostome producer Steve Bourdeau, who was found by a Radio-Canada investigative report to have sold cans labelled as pure maple syrup that were revealed to have been cut with up to 50 per cent cane sugar. He said that, if proven, these allegations “cast aspersion on 8,000 legitimate producers,” and severely undermine the industry’s reputation for purity and health standards.
“It’s the type of promotion that we don’t need,” Hall added, before noting that Agriculture Canada is leading an investigation into the situation.
“Syrup for sale” signs are a common sight across the Valley, including in Elgin, where Anderson sells much of his syrup direct from the farm. “I have repeat customers and they know that we have a good product. But it’s the new people coming in where I’m now going to have to prove to them that it’s a good product,” he laments.
Anderson is now cleaned up for the season and getting ready for spring on the farm. “It was a year I don’t know if I’ll ever beat,” he said, with a laugh. “But we will try again next year.”