Why the maple syrup industry is under threat from climate change

Sebago, Maine — You know you're in Maine when the pancakes come hot off a 100-year-old wood stove. But drill into Alan Greene's eighth-generation maple syrup operation in the town of Sebago, and you'll find it doesn't run as smoothly as it used to.

"The last 10 years, we are definitely becoming warmer earlier," said Greene, who runs Greene Maple Farms. "We're not getting the cold and the gradual warm-up. We're getting warm-up, warm-up, warm-up, with deep freezes in between."

It's been a cold winter in Maine so far this year. But across the country, over time, climate change has warmed winters by an average of 4 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the nonprofit Climate Central.

The coldest parts of the country are warming the fastest. Portland, Maine, now experiences 22 more warm winter days — classified as temperatures above normal — that in it did in 1970, per Climate Central.

This means the sap flows much earlier, and gets boiled earlier, than what Greene's father recorded in his annual syrup log when he ran operations.

"So in 1971, the year I was born…the first time he boiled, was March 21st," Greene explained. "We've finished our season on March 21st some years now...he was just starting."

Maple syrup is America's original sweetener. European settlers learned to collect it from Native Americans. It's a practice that goes back centuries. But now, within a span of decades, it's all changing for the $1.5 billion industry.

Projections show the prime range of sugar maple habitat shifting northward, where it is cooler. Jason Lilley, a professor of sustainable agriculture at the University of Maine, says the state's maple trees are "absolutely" under stress from climate change.

"I just don't want producers to be going out of business, and to see this industry start to decline," Lilley said. "We can't just sit around and watch this happen."

Instead, Lilley says, some producers are exploring different varieties of trees and actively thinning their forests, which gives trees more space to grow. They are also using plastic tubing and vacuum systems that are always on standby for early flowing sap.

Producers, like Greene, agree using technology to adapt to the ongoing changes might help maple syrup production to continue in the state.

"The technology has come about while climate change has been pushing us, and they're a good blend," Greene said. "They're working together. I think we need to be paying attention and be prepared for it. For those who aren't, I think it's gonna cost them down the road." 

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