2024 is off to a sticky start
for many syrup producers. It's the earliest start to the
maple syrup season we've ever had. This year's been wild. When it comes to maple
trees, timing is everything. As the weather changes and temperatures
stay above freezing during the day and below freezing at night, trees produce sticky sap. For thousands of years, Indigenous
communities and more recently, family-run producers have collected this
sap and turned it into maple syrup or sugar But because wint
ers are getting warmer, syrup makers started collecting
sap much earlier than usual. In places like Wisconsin, the fourth-largest
maple syrup-producing state, farmers began tapping trees in January and February instead
of March or April like they normally do. "Our ancestors, like, they always
found ways to adapt and to change with the times. And so we're
continuing that tradition.” Many Indigenous producers are tapping into their centuries-old knowledge to
preserve this ancient practice.
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