The Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association today announced it is cancelling the statewide maple open house weekend scheduled for March 21-22 over concerns about Coronavirus. 

“It’s the prudent choice for our sugar makers and anticipated guests,” said Allison Hope, executive director of the VMSMA.  All fees associated with the event will be refunded to sugarmakers.

The Vermont Maple Festival in St. Albans, Vt. scheudled for the last weekend in April and the nation’s biggest maple festival has also been cancelled.

“The Maple Festival trustees met tonight and have officially cancelled the 2020 Vermont Maple Festival,” Cecile Branon, one of the festival organizers said late Thursday.

The annual festival was scheduled for April 24-26 in St. Albans, Vt. and was in its 54th year.

Other statewide maple open house weekends are still scheduled in multiple U.S. states over the next two weeks.

New York's open house event is still on track.

“We are monitoring the situation daily,” said Helen Thomas, executive director of the New York State Maple Producers Associaton.  “To summarize, as of right now the event will go on as planned.”

Thomas sent out notice on Thursday that sugarhouses should restrict attendance to half of the host building capacity, as per guidelines sent out by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“For example, if your building capacity is rated at 100, then restrict the crowd to 50 at a time,” Thomas said in an email to Maple Weekend participants. “There should also be strict cleaning procedures in place before and after the event.”

 She said the association will continue to sponsor and advertise the two-weekend event which is scheduled for March 21-22 and 28-29.

At a tree tapping event on Friday to kick-off the event at Battle Hill Maple in Fort Ann, N.Y. State agriculture commissioner Richard Ball told The Maple News that participating sugarhouses should stay tuned to advisories from the state maple association and state government.

“I think a lot of maple houses are rural and may have 50 people come throughout the day and not all at once so I don’t see any significant issue there,” Ball said.  “But use common sense and pay attention to the changing situation.  It’s changing so fast.”

Nick Kosko, president of the New Hampshire Maple Producers Associaton said his state will be operating “business as usual” for open houses March 21-22.

“The NHMPA is sending out food safety and community safety guidelines to our members to help protect themselves and the public,” Kosko told The Maple News on Friday. 

Meanwhile, the sap continues to flow despite the national crisis.

Bruce Bascom of Bascom Maple Farms on Tuesday was attending to a line of barrel loaded pick-up trucks bringing syrup to his bulk buying facility in Alstead, N.H.

Bascom said the crop was progressing nicely at his farm.

“We presently have over 20,000 gallons of our own new 2020 production from 109,000 taps,” Bascom told The Maple News on Wednesday.  “The forecast the next two weeks is very good so a big crop may be likely -- uncertain.”

Bascom has been expanding the holding capacity at his farm for more bulk syrup.

New improvements there include six additional 8,000 gallon stainless refrigerated syrup silos, bring his total number of tanks to 19 total.

Bascom will also be adding another bottling line for gallon containers which will be installed this summer.

Bascom was paying $2.00 per pound for most table grades with premiums for organic syrup, especially organic syrup from Vermont.

At Butternut Maple Farms in Morrisville, Vt. owner David Marvin said his bulk buying facility was not taking new syrup outside of his already contracted suppliers.

“We are about where we expected to be on inventory,” Marvin told The Maple News this week. “A good crop will be fine, a big crop could be problematic.”

Both Marvin and Bascom reported that grocery stores are selling higher volumes of syrup lately.

“Consumer demand is very good,” Marvin said. “Perhaps some is coming from people stocking up given the coronavirus. Time will tell.”

In Quebec, the season is starting to wake up.

‘It’s been looking good. It’s running here,” said 13,000-tap producer Stanley Holmes of Ayer’s Cliff, Que. ‘We started a week ago.  It’s early and we’ve made quite a bit.”

Back in the U.S. some sugarmakers are complaining about low sugar content in sap.

At Brian Adams sugarhouse in Shushan, N.Y. sap was testing low.

“We are getting only 1 percent,” he told The Maple News on Wednesday.