On Saturday, the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript’s annual maple syrup contest brought 23 contestants to Bantam Grill in Peterborough, nine more than last year, and most producers reported an excellent season.
Judges Roger Swain, Ben Watson and Eliza Allen voted Mark Fernald of Sharon into first place and Alfred and Rachel Sawyer of Jaffrey in second. Somero Maple Farm in New Ipswich took the People’s Choice Award, chosen by people who attended the contest and tried all the syrups in a blind taste test.
Swain, a long-time producer himself, said, “It’s been a very long season.” He explained for sap to flow, the temperature needs to oscillate above freezing during the day and below freezing at night, and this year the weather permitted trees to be tapped as early as Christmas all the way to mid-March. But Swain explained that a tree can only be tapped for five weeks before the tap hole closes up, and most producers reported starting their season in early February.
Fernald produced about 30 gallons of syrup this year, 50 percent more than he had in the last few years. He started tapping on Feb. 10, 10 days earlier than last year, and took in his last tap on March 27.
“I made half of the 30 gallons in the first 10 days,” Fernald said. “The weather was good. Below freezing at night, 40s in the day.”
He previously won the contest in 2009, and did not expect to win again this year.
“There were all those entries and I tasted them all,” Fernald said. “That was just a lot of good syrup.”
Fernald said he and his family eat a lot of syrup and give a lot away. Next year, he hopes to tap with his daughter, who has produced with him in years past.
This was Bill and Katie Raney’s first year submitting syrup to the contest. They started producing syrup when “my daughter bought us a starter kit,” Bill said. “Once you catch the maple bug you can’t shed it,” and in six years they went from putting out three buckets to 300.
“I love the outdoors. It’s just amazing what Mother Nature will produce. I just enjoy the whole experience,” said Bill.
Cathy Somero, who helps produce syrup with her sons Reuben and Peter at Somero Maple Farm, said the season “was exceptional. The best in over seven years.” Like other producers, she said they were able to start tapping earlier this year and they’re still doing some boiling. Somero Maple Farm tapped 4,200 trees this year.
“Sugaring is a farming business,” Cathy said. “It’s so temperature-sensitive.”
Scott Kemp and Andy Johnson of Maple Row Sugaring in Rindge produced about 118 gallons, and said the March 14 storm impacted their operation. Kemp said the storm was right before Maple Weekend and weighed down the lines and covered some of the low-hanging buckets. He said it’s hard to predict what will happen with the weather.