Temperatures not ideal for syrup production

DEERFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - There are a number of industries that thrive in cold weather. Among them;  maple syrup producers. 22News found out, even this late winter may be too cold.

Call it a "too much of a good thing" situation. Last winter was too warm for a lot of producers, this season it's better, but borderline too cold.

Cold nights and warmer days is the recipe to boiling thousands of gallons of maple syrup each year, but with overnight temperatures dipping near 10 degrees in this first week of Spring, producers say, it might just be too cold.

"When it's too cold, it takes longer to warm up during the day. Low temperatures in the 20s overnight is ideal, then getting up into the 40s during the day," said Chip Williams, Williams Farm Sugarhouse.

The one good thing is this time last year it was about 80 degrees and they were finished producing syrup here for the season. Today there's still snow on the ground and the sap is still flowing. Despite the 'less than ideal' conditions,  customers say the quality of the syrup is still second to none.

"It's outstanding. It's just, never better. Smells like sweet air when you walk into this building and I remember it from when I was five or ten years old," said Jeff Sawyer, who's visiting Massachusetts this week.

Chip Williams says they're hoping to produce a total of 25 hundred gallons of syrup by the end of this season, a goal they can meet when temperatures warm up a bit. When they do, loyal customers say they'll be there to buy it, because, after all, it's what makes our region special.

"My daughter brought us last year and I've been thinking about it ever since. It's so great and such a New England feel. I've really been looking forward to it," added Tom Helm who's is in town from Philadelphia.

Click here if you'd like to find a sugarhouse near you.