A sugar maple tree is tapped and ready for the 2006 run. By ButterflySha via Flickr Creative Commons.
After a pitiful maple run in 2012, maple farmers have been experiencing a much better run this year.
But another challenge is threatening to make this years’ run bittersweet. Thieves!
Just a few months ago, the Canadian Maple syrup cartel made the news when arrests were made in an $18 million maple syrup heist scheme.
Last month in Tioga County, police were investigating the theft of maple sap.
According to the Associated Press, this trend is on the rise.
The thefts usually occur when people trespass on private property and tap into sugar maple trees without permission.
The U.S. Forest Service is not sure why the trend — which is not new — seems to be increasing in recent years.
Final product being bottled in 2010. By Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources via Flickr Creative Commons.
“It could be that landowners are more willing to contact us. But it also may be that more people are venturing out into the woods to try their hand at this,” Ranger Thomas Liba said.
Sixteen Pennsylvania counties are part of the Pennsylvania Maple Syrup Producers Council.
The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development said that maple syrup is produced commercially only in the eastern U.S. and Canada, yet there is a growing worldwide demand for pure maple products, especially once people are exposed to them. It’s marketing that holds back growth in the industry.
Do you buy maple syrup? Have you heard of maple sap or syrup theft?