Warm Weather Gets Maple Syrup Taps Flowing Early

CHASKA, Minn. (WCCO) -- Our February heat wave means its syrup making time. It's the earliest ever tap for The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum -- the state's maple syrup tapping season usually begins in March.

"It was kind of a shock when I saw the ten day forecast, I didn't know but the temperatures looked great for the next ten days," naturalist Richard DeVries said.

DeVries cooked 700 gallons of sap yesterday from 200 of their tapped trees. The arboretum's modern system includes a vacuum pump connected to a network of tubes, delivering the sap.

"With the older system after drilling a tap hole, you tap in the spile and wait for the sap to flow," Devries said. "So now with the vacuum, we can lower the pressure inside the tubing so we get a bigger pressure difference, so we can get more sap with the tubing so a modern system they use a vacuum system just to get more sap."

While the head start is exciting, whether or not that means more maple syrup is still up in the air.

"It all kind of depends on what the rest of the spring looks like," DeVries said. "If it's going to get cold again, we should be in good shape."

The season lasts until trees start to bud, then it's game over -- sap production stops. They're fine for now, but if we get another long warm spell, that could mean trouble.

As a popular spring field trip destination for elementary school students, the entire program is geared toward education.

"I think it's one of the most popular field trips," DeVries said. "Last year we had 1,500 elementary school kids."

The Arboretum is hosting a MapleFest Brunch in March. It's open to the public and of course they'll be using their delicous maple syrup.