ALBANY, N.Y.—The U.S. maple crop was down slightly in 2018, coming in at 4.15 million gallons produced, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The crop was down less than one percent from last year’s 4.271 million gallons.

Vermont led the way in U.S. production once again, with 1,940,000 gallons produced this year, down just slightly from last year’s 1,980,000 gallons.  

Vermont’s tap count was up, with 5,670,000 taps this season.  Last year, Vermont had 5,410,000 taps out, the statistics service said.

New York had a major year in 2018, with 806,000 gallons produced, a record.  Last year the state made 760,000 gallons.

Maine came in third in production, but was down from its production totals from last year.  The state made 539,000 gallons this season, compared to 709,000 last year.

Rounding out the top five were Wisconsin with 225,000 gallons and New Hampshire with 163,000 gallons, the USDA said.

The best yield per tap ratio was Vermont, at .34 gallons per tap; Wisconsin at .30 gallons per tap and and NewYork at .295 gallons per tap.

The season was a long one in the U.S. with sugarmakers reporting an average season length of 42 days, five days longer than last year’s 37 day season average length, according to the statistics service.

The full details of the U.S. crop and state by state reports will be published in the U.S. Maple Syrup Almanac, which will be distributed later this month.