WESTMORELAND, N.H.—Sugarmakers in New England were enjoying the first big sap runs of the season this week.

“It ran good,” said Stuart Adams of Stuart & John’s Sugar House in Westmoreland, N.H. which played host to Gov. Chris Sununu tapping the ceremonial first tree of the season on Friday.

The farm boiled four days in a row this week starting on March 5 and to date had made 666 gallons off their 7,000 taps, plus buying in from another 5,000.  Almost all their syrup made so far has been dark or very dark.

Russ Fiorey of Surry, N.H. said he has boiled four times so far this young season, making around 40 gallons off of his 800 taps.

“I think the ground was a little frozen still yet,” he said on Friday.

Gov. Sununu himself said he and his kids will boil sap from four trees he taps in his backyard in Newfield, N.H.

“I boil it to about 25 to 1, so very thin but I like to use it for a sweetener in my coffee and it’s good that way,” the governor told The Maple News.

Sununu said he arranges three different pots on the stove and transfers sap from one pot to the next as the sap condenses.

“If I boil it too long it just burns,” he said.

Meanwhile, containers continue to be a nagging problem for sugarmakers around the Maple Belt.

Finding quart containers available this season has been a challenge.

Andrew Chisholm of Chisholm Farm in Hampstead, N.H. and president of the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association said the association’s bulk order of quart containers is still on backorder, leaving member sugarmakers scrambling to find alternatives.

“Right now the association is 630 cases short of quart containers,” Chisholm told The Maple News on Friday.  Each case holds 80 quart jugs.

Chisholm said that backlog represents $1.1 million worth of syrup, when filled.

“Quarts are our number one seller” he said.

He said the backlog of association printed pints, half pints and gallons is not as severe.

“We’re only 100 cases short of pints,” he said.

Sap continues to run in most of New England, getting many caught up. 

A snowstorm and a cold snap will shut things down, but a warm-up next week had some sugarmakers worried with no freezing nights in the forecast from the middle of the week on.

In Northern Vermont, sugarmaker Dustin Beloin of Jay, Vt. said sap was testing for good sugar so far.

“Our first run came in at 2.4 percent,” Beloin said on Monday.

In Western New York, Merle Maple in Attica, N.Y. said it crossed the 2,000 gallon mark on Thursday.

In Ohio and most of Indiana, many sugarmakers were already shutting down for the season, with a big warm up coming next week.

"I finshed last Saturday," said Chirs Kohler of Bloomington, Ind. in a report to the Indiana Maple Prodcuers Association.

Most maple producing states will be hosting maple open house weekends for the next three weeks.