You see them everywhere at this time of year – the maplers that are used for the main ingredient that makes pancakes so tasty.
Mars is maple month in New York. Maple production increased to 846,000 gallons in 2024, or nearly 100,000 gallons of maple syrup of the 2023 season. New York ranks second for production, predictable behind the Vermont.
Weekends to celebrate the premium offer events and activities. They will take place from March 22 to 23 and from March 29 to 30, as well as other special events and promotions throughout the month.
Recognizing the importance of the maple industry for the agricultural economy in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul proposed additional funding in his executive budget for the 26th to develop the maple industry more and help New York become the first maple innovator.
“The Maple Month is officially underway, offering New Yorkers from all over the state the opportunity to support workers from this sweet agricultural culture,” said Hochul. “New York state has a long history with this delicious harvest and continues to house a flourishing community of maple producers manufacturing some of the most delicious and innovative maple products in the world. I encourage all New Yorkers to participate in maple weekends to taste some of the world class articles that the New York maple community has to offer. »»
As part of the kick-off of the Maple Month, the commissioner of New York State Agriculture and State Markets, Richard A. Ball, visited Shadow Hill Maple Farm, a family farm in Ontario in the county of Wayne, for an annual maple carpet to highlight the New York maple industry and encourage visitors to participate in Maple weekends. In addition to maple weekends, Shadow Hill Maple Farm is open every weekend in March for the sampling of a variety of maple products, installation visits to see how SAP is collected and to know how maple syrup is manufactured. Shadow Hill Maple Farm is part of New York’s Grown & Certified Program, which promotes New York farms that adhere to a higher standard for food security and environmentally friendly practices.
The owner of Shadow Hill Maple Farm, Gretchen Milke, said: “Shadow Hill Maple has been organizing Maple open weekends for 25 years and has served pancakes at will for the community every weekend in March. Our Sugar House is located in the center of our sugar, offering visitors the best maple experience, allowing them to enjoy their pancakes with real maple syrup while visualizing the trees where sap was collected. We also offer free samples of all syrup colors in addition to many other treats and maple products. Customers are invited to cover the trails through sugar and around the three acres pond. It is certainly an excellent family event for all ages! We are proud to be part of the maple tradition in our state, which is so important for New York agriculture. »»
More than 100 maple producers participate in the NYS Grown & Certified Program, which checks the New York agricultural producers who adhere to food security and environmental sustainability standards. Find a current list of maple producers who are part of the Nys Grown & Certified program in Certified.Ny.gov/Where-Buy.
Maple weekends
In March of each year and the last two weekends of the month in particular, maple farms through the State open their doors to the public to offer a chance to taste pure maple syrup, from the source, and to live the unique family tradition of making maple syrup in New York State. The producers offer visits and breakfasts to the pancake, sell maple products and demonstrate the manufacturing process of syrup, which includes the traditional bucket of buckets suspended on trees or more modern production methods using aspirate systems to increase SAP yield per tree.
A list of Maple Weekend events is available in Mapleweekend.nysmaple.com.