AROOSTOOK COUNTY, Maine — According to a 2018 national maple production report, the state of Maine ranks right up near the top of the maple-syrup-producing states at number three.
In a June 13 report by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maine figured only below Vermont, the top-producing maple state, and New York. The report listed 10 other maple-producing states: Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
The statistics indicate Maine set 1,870,000 taps this season — 10,000 more than last year — with a yield per tap of 0.288 gallons.
That means it took roughly four taps to produce one gallon of syrup.
Maine’s total maple syrup yield this year was 539,000 gallons, down from 709,000 in 2017.
Total yield slipped 50,000 gallons in Vermont, while New York saw an increase of 46,000 gallons.
The report also states that 2018 United States maple syrup production totaled 4.16 million gallons, down 3 percent from the previous year. The USDA estimated the number of taps at 13.7 million, up 3 percent from the 2017 total. Yield per tap was an estimated 0.304 gallon, down 5 percent from the previous season.
The earliest sap flow occurred January 7 in Pennsylvania. The latest sap flow occurred on March 1 in Minnesota. On average, the season lasted 42 days, compared with 37 days in 2017. The 2017 United States average price per gallon was $33.00, down $2.00 from 2016.
