#maple weekend

PHOTO: Visitors listen as Merle Maple Farm employee Chuck Couture demonstrates how to properly tap a maple tree. “The first time we had a few days of 70 and 80 degree weather, I knew it would be over,” Lyle Merle, owner of Merle Maple Farm, said. “There’s no question about it. I just wasn’t sure if it was going to be February, March or April. This is the earliest I’ve ever seen it.” Instead of boiling sap, local farms showcased other aspects of maple production. Merle’s farm demonstrated how to make maple sugar candy, a sweet treat for onlookers. Boxler’s machine was running, but it was only boiling water for demonstration purposes. That didn’t seem to bother onlookers, who came from all around the area to get a taste of Maple Weekend. Lynn and Douglas Endres, of Getzville, N.Y., visit every year. For them, Maple Weekend has become a family tradition that spans the generations. “My daughter and her husband are here from Cleveland,” Douglas said. “They came purposefully for Maple Weekend, and they brought their kids. Our other adult children have come different years.” They said they like to buy local products and support Western New York farmers. “As the grandchildren get older, I think it’ll be more important for them to see where their food comes from and how it’s made,” Lynn said. Maple Weekend originated in Wyoming County when 12 local producers decided host a Maple Sunday based off a similar event in Maine. Twelve years later, approximately 140 producers participate in Maple Weekend across the state. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will conduct a Maple Syrup survey during April and May to gather information on the number of taps, yield, production, price and value of production in New York, which is the second largest maple syrup producer in the nation. Information provided by respondents is confidential. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Survey results will be published in NASS’s Crop Production Report, which will be released on June 12.