ALSTEAD, N.H.—A large carryover of last year’s massive crop is expected as producers gear up for—and in some cases, begin—the 2023 season.

Bruce Bascom of Bascom Maple Farms said he would likely have enough carryover syrup from 2022 to last until at least April of this year.

Sales at the retail level have tapered off, he said.

“This year the crop was a lot bigger than you think, it’s probably 70 or 75 million pounds,” he said.

Bascom said there is at least 35 million pounds of drum syrup in the field, which is up by more than 100 percent over 2021.  

“It's more than doubled,”  he told The Maple News.

David Marvin of Butternut Mountain Farms in Morrisville, Vt., another major packer in the U.S., was equally cautioning about the upcoming season against the current bulk market conditions.

"Notably, the crop was bigger than we expected, and the Canadian Dollar weakened considerably compared to the US dollar," Marvin told The Maple News.

"The market is stable, but consumers are simply buying less than they were during the pandemic. As a result there will be a large inventory carryover of syrup,” he said.

Prices to producers paid by both outfits have not been announced and likely will not be set until a clear picture of the size of the 2023 crop comes in.