maple syrup

The boiling has begun and maple syrup season is underway.

Production started a little early this year, in mid-March. But with the ups and downs of the weather, there is always some uncertainty as to what kind of season it will be.

“I have no prediction. It’s just too hard. The benefit this year is that it started a little bit early, but that changes daily. So it’s just one of those things in this business. You wait, and you take what you get and see when the dust settles at the end of the season,” New Brunswick Maple Syrup Association Spokesperson Carter Stone told us.

The maple syrup season in the southern part of the province typically lasts around four weeks, if it’s a good year, but Stone added that it’s often only three weeks.

In the north, their season often lasts six or seven weeks.

The season usually runs mid-March to mid-April, but some producers begin tapping as early as the end of February in 2026.

“Last year, we did about 1,160,000 gallons of maple syrup. The 2024 season was a bit higher, about 1.2 million. We have major buyers who purchase the bulk of the product all over the world. So China and India, the markets are really opening up there, and other places like Japan and all kinds of places across the water. So the market’s improving year after year. ” Stone explained.

Stone operates a small operation in Nackawic with around 5,000 taps and has around three people who help out. He does the boiling by himself. But for those with larger operations, he says it takes more people, because they’re producing more.

With the price of everything going up, Stone says there’s an impact on maple syrup producers as well.

“I have seen it go up over the last couple of years, for people buying it, at your local store. So, unfortunately, it is like everything else. Our costs have skyrocketed. For fuel, everything comes by truck. Trucks run on diesel fuel. So it all trickles downhill and ends up with us, and ultimately it ends up on the consumer,” Stone said.