CONCORD, N.H.—The 2019 United States maple syrup production totaled 4.24 million gallons, an increase of one percent from last year, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The number of taps in the U.S, is estimated at 13.3 million, down 4 percent from the 2018 total.  However the yield per tap is estimated to be 0.318 gallon, up 5 percent from the previous season. 

Vermont led the way in maple producing states, with a production total of 2.07 million gallons, up 7 percent from the previous year, according to King Whetstone, Regional Director of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Northeastern Regional Field Office.

New York was second in the nation with 820,000 gallons produced, up from last year’s 806,000.  Maine was third 580,000 gallons produced, according to the statistics agency.

Vermont maple syrup producers put out 6.00 million maple taps in 2019, an increase of 6 percent from the 2018 total and the largest number of taps since 1928. Yield per tap in the state is estimated to be 0.345 gallon, up from 0.342 gallon from the previous season. 

Meanwhile, the earliest sap flow reported in the U.S. was January 5 in New York. 

The latest sap flow reported to open the season was March 1 in Wisconsin. 

On average, the season lasted 30 days, compared with 42 days in 2018, the statistics service said. 

The 2018 United States average price per gallon was $33.80, up $0.70 from 2017. 

Value of production, at $142 million for 2018, was down 2 percent from the previous season. 

Six states were not surveyed by the statistics service this year, including Ohio, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota and West Virginia.