WASHINTON, Vt.—It could be a big crop.

Sugarmakers in the U.S. are winding down their seasons, with many expecting the crop to rival the 2022 season, which was the biggest ever.

“This is my 39th year making syrup and this year will be my best,” said 800-tap sugarmaker Bob Capobianco in Washington, Vt.

Sam Schmucker in Mio, Michigan also had a big crop, and was still going.

“We’ve made 2600 off of 4200 taps and we’re still going,” he told The Maple News late last week.

Bill Haley in Schoharie, N.Y. said it was his best year ever, also. It was his biggest year and earliest year in 50 years of sugaring.

“It ran like crazy in February, then we got weird weather,” Haley told The Maple News.

Haley said he tapped at the end of January, the earliest ever. He had his first boil on Feb. 9. 

Kurt Sawyer in Jackman, Maine was still boiling into April after also tapping in January.

“It was the earliest I’ve ever been ready,” he said. “The weather has been crazy. It’s our biggest and best season yet. Sure beats last year.”

Sawyer was at 2800 gallons on his 7,200 taps and still going strong into April. So far, 4.3 pounds per tap of table grade syrup.

Greg Lapan, who boils in Fort Ann, N.Y. said he was close to 7 pounds per tap this season, by far his biggest ever.

“Very surprised with the wacky weather, how well things turned out and of course very pleased,” Lapan told The Maple News. 

Not everyone was doing great. In the southern states, the season was hit or miss.

Dan Herschberger in Burton, Ohio was frustrated.

“It was bad here,” he told The Maple News. “Too warm. Things have been changing the last three or four years. My brother tapped in December and he did ok.”

Way up in Duluth Minn., sugarmaker Rodney Booth of Nisse’s Syrups said the season had been “so-so.”

“We never tapped in February before,” he told The Maple News. Booth said he tapped on Feb 22. “We had a few runs and then shut down for three weeks. It’s just been starting back up again.”

Willard Hitchcock near Warren, Pa. waited to tap some of his trees. The ones he tapped early in the season did not do so great. “It was either too cold, or too warm,” he said. 

Hitchcock said he took over a new woodlot way later in the season and tapped that section in late March.

The trees were still running in early April, making him likely the last sugarmaker boiling in Pennsylvania.

"We're going to boil again tonight," Hitchcock said on April 3. "We are still making Amber syrup." 

In New Jersey, sugarmaker Tom Phillips only had a two week season.

Still, he was happy with the quality, saying it was his best flavor year ever. And color was light.

“I made more very light syrup, as a percentage of the crop than I ever have before,” Phillips said.

The USDA will tally the production for the season over the next month and release the results in June.