CAZENOVIA, N.Y (NCC News) – Maple syrup season is at a close in Central New York, and sticky celebrations are coming to an end. At Critz Farms, the festivities included wagon rides, a breakfast buffet, and tours of the sugar house where sap is processed.
Owner Matthew Critz, and his wife, Juanita, have been hosting Maple Celebration Weekend on the farm for over twenty years. Since buying the farm in 1985, the couple have made maple a focal point for production.
“We have about… 15 hundred trees that are tapped out there, and about 20 taps,” said Matthew Critz. This year, the farm has produced over five hundred gallons of syrup. According to Critz, this year’s yield was “somewhere between good and great.”
State University of New York College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry had a similarly successful year. The Heiberg Memorial Forest produced around seven hundred gallons of syrup, which is about average, according to Jill Rahn, a forest research analyst.
But plentiful years like this could start becoming less common. Winter weather has become less predictable as a result of climate change. Rapid temperature changes can cause sap to start flowing earlier in the season. Maple producers, at the mercy of the elements, have had to become more flexible with when they tap.
“Back 15, 20 years ago, they didn’t even think about tapping until around… Valentine’s Day,” said Rahn. “The last ten years or so, if you didn’t catch those early January runs, you were really far behind other producers.”
Now, some southern sugar bushes no longer produce syrup because the winters don’t get cold enough. Precipitation patterns are also a factor. “Sugar maple is kind of a very site specific tree,” explained Rahn. “It doesn’t like to be too wet. It doesn’t like to be too dry.”
The southern range for sugar maple just seems to be creeping further and further north – Jill Rahn, forest resource analyst at State University of New York College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry
The team at Critz Farms has been able to successfully handle the curve balls thrown their way so far. This year they began tapping in February, far earlier than when they first started out. “I’ve got records that we’ve boiled on the 20th of April before,” said Matthew Critz. He understands that climate change poses an existential threat.
“Eventually, the guys in Quebec will be all right, but we won’t be.”
TRANSCRIPT
(MEGAN ACKER)
MAPLE SYRUP SEASON IS WRAPPING UP HERE AT CRITZ FARMS – AND YOU CAN SMELL THE EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR. OR… MAYBE THAT’S JUST BREAKFAST.
WHETHER IT’S TAKING A RIDE ON THE WAGON, CHECKING OUT THE BUFFET, OR PICKING UP SOME SYRUP TO TAKE HOME, THERE’S PLENTY TO DO. THE SIGH-MIHN-ACK FAMILY EVEN TOOK ADVANTAGE OF SOME LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES.
(The Szymaniak Family)
ROSE, CAN YOU TELL US WHAT YOU LEARNED TODAY?
I LEARNED HOW TO MAKE MAPLE SYRUP!
(MEGAN ACKER)
AND THAT’S NO SIMPLE SCIENCE – BUT CRITZ FARM OWNER MATTHEW CRITZ SURE CAN MAKE IT SEEM THAT WAY.
(NAT OF MATTHEW TALKING TO PEOPLE)
(MEGAN ACKER)
AFTER RUNNING THE FARM FOR OVER FORTY YEARS – MATTHEW’S MAPLE EXPERTISE IS ONLY RIVALED BY HIS LOVE FOR THE STICKY SWEET.
BUT THIS LIQUID GOLD IS FAST BECOMING… WELL, LIQUID GOLD.
(JILL RAHN // FOREST RESEARCH ANALYST AT STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES AND FORESTRY)
WE ARE A LITTLE CONCERNED.
(MEGAN ACKER)
CLIMATE CHANGE IS MAKING THE TAPPING SEASON MORE DIFFICULT TO PREDICT – AND SUNY E-S-F FOREST RESEARCH ANALYST JILL RAHN SAYS THAT SUGARERS ARE BEING FORCED TO ADAPT.
(JILL RAHN)
YOU KNOW, BACK 15, 20 YEARS AGO, THEY DIDN’T EVEN THINK ABOUT TAPPING UNTIL AROUND. WE’LL SAY VALENTINE’S DAY. THE LAST TEN YEARS OR SO, IF YOU DIDN’T CATCH THOSE, LIKE, EARLY JANUARY RUNS, YOU WERE REALLY FAR BEHIND OTHER PRODUCERS.
(MEGAN ACKER)
AND FURTHER SOUTH – SOME SUGAR BUSHES CAN NO LONGER HARVEST – BECAUSE IT’S JUST NOT GETTING COLD ENOUGH ANYMORE. MATTHEW PUTS IT THIS WAY.
(MATTHEW CRITZ)
EVENTUALLY, THE GUYS IN QUEBEC WILL BE ALRIGHT, BUT WE WON’T BE.
(MEGAN ACKER)
BUT UNTIL THE DAY COMES WHEN THERE ARE NO MORE FREEZING WINTERS – CRITZ FARMS WILL WARMLY WELCOME IN MAPLE SEASON EVERY SPRING.
FOR N-C-C NEWS, I’M MEGAN ACKER, IN CAZENOVIA.