STILESVILLE, N.B. – Maple syrup producers in the province are dreading the forecast. Some producers haven’t had the chance to tap their trees yet because sap lines are buried by snow.
The good news? Cold weather has delayed the start of the season by a few weeks, buying some producers more time.
The Trites brothers say they will have to dig deep to get through this year’s maple season. Darrell and Lindsay Trites own Trites Maples in Stilesville, N.B.
“It’s awful on account of all the snow and it still keeps coming and the lines are all pulled down and we are going to have to shovel and shovel and shovel,” Darrell said.
The brothers spent Tuesday shoveling to uncover the lines.
“There’s 50 to 60 miles of pipeline ” says Lindsay.
He says all of those lines need to be dug up and 8,000 trees need to be tapped before the brothers can even think about drawing sap. They have yet to tap a single tree.
“I am 67, he’s going on 68, we are not young people anymore. But we have to do something,” he said.
It’s been a family tradition for over 100 years and the brothers are trying to carry it on. Their younger brother, Brent Trites, ran the Trites Family Maple Sugar Bush for decades before he passed away suddenly just over a year ago.
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The brothers say the woods aren’t the same without him.
“Like my brother said, it was a family affair and we all worked and sludge away and there is just going be one set of hands less,” Lindsay said.
The cold weather is buying the pair more time to get their trees tapped. The sap flow is already a few weeks behind schedule.
The N.B. Maple Syrup Association says many producers are dealing with broken and buried lines caused by the deep snow. But the snow pack is not expected to have an impact on the quality or quantity of this year’s sap flow.
The industry needs warm days and cool nights to get the sap flowing properly.
Darrell says only time and temperature will reveal how the season will turn out. But he does know what his brother would have said if he were still alive to witness this year’s deep snow pack.
“He’d probably be sweating the same as I do.”
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