Warm weather sparks start of maple syrup season in Essex County

Maple farm in Ruscom started tapping trees as the weather is finally perfect. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell reports.

A break in the deep freeze has maple syrup season underway in Essex County, with one local producer tapping trees this week in hopes of a strong year ahead.

Rob Nadeau, owner of Ruscom Maple Farms, said tree tapping began Thursday after forecasts began calling for daytime highs around 5 C and overnight lows near -5 C — the temperature swing needed to get sap flowing.

“You require a shock to the tree,” Nadeau said. “The water is going to start going up the tree, and we’re going to collect it as it comes.”

Nadeau said Valentine’s Day typically marks the start of the season for the small family-run operation, but an earlier break in the cold prompted them to head into the bush sooner than expected.

The farm is expanding this year, adding two new properties — including a forested lot owned by Colasanti’s that hadn’t been tapped in years. Nadeau said he expects to add more than 100 new taps.

“If it runs the way that we’re hoping, and I think it will, we can probably double what we did last year,” he said.

Despite the growth, Nadeau said the operation remains rooted in tradition, with taps drilled and buckets hung by hand rather than using modern tubing systems.

“It’s tradition for us,” said Nadeau, whose family has sugaring roots in New Brunswick and Quebec. “We do it all traditional — ‘à la mitaine,’ by the mitten. All our stuff is gravity.”

He also credits geography for the farm’s distinctive product, noting the nearby Ruscom River provides silver maple trees with abundant water.

“We’ve got lots of water here,” he said, adding he believes that contributes to a sweeter syrup.

Across the province, the start of the season has varied.

Bill Vandenberg, a producer near Kettle Point in the Sarnia area and a representative with the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers’ Association, said in his region production has been slower to begin.

“For us, it is actually a little later than normal,” Vandenberg told CTV News, noting trees remain frozen solid and a return to colder weather could delay significant sap flow until early March.

Even so, he said many producers are optimistic.

“A cold winter normally means a good crop,” he said, explaining that consistent freezing helps preserve sugars in the trees.

Vandenberg added expansion is a trend across the industry, with many producers adding taps in anticipation of growing demand.

“It’s a very niche crop at this time,” he said. “Ontario has more maple trees than Quebec does, yet Quebec produces 80 per cent of the syrup in Canada. We are very small in comparison, of course, with a lot of potential.”

The early start in Essex County comes ahead of Maple Month in March, when producers typically host tours and events across Ontario.

Back in Ruscom, Nadeau said he expects the season could stretch five or six weeks if conditions remain favourable.

“We work around the clock to get this done,” he exclaimed. “It takes a lot of work.”