Mild weather may chill maple syrup season

[marmar]

from the Detroit News:



Imlay City— For the first time in nearly a quarter-century of making maple syrup, Gerald Nelson started tapping trees a week after Groundhog Day.

The longtime Lapeer County syrup producer usually starts in mid-to-late February, but Michigan's warmer-than-normal winter spurred him into action. It was either that, or risk losing his best chance to easily tap the golden nectar if the mild readings linger.

"It kind of becomes a million-dollar question: Do I tap now and get what is available?" Nelson said. "If not, will it be there in March, when we usually get it?"

While Michigan's unusually warm winter has lifted everyone from construction firms to salt truck drivers, it's no fun for the state's nearly 700 maple syrup producers, who depend on Mother Nature to supply the right temperatures for tapping. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120218/METRO/202180359/Mild-weather-may-chill-maple-syrup-season?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE