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Marianne Combs

Warmer weather puts damper on Minnesota's maple syrup harvest

Pumphouse
Maple syrup producer Dave Rogotzke collected sap in this pumphouse in 2013. From here, a vacuum suctioned the sap to a holding tank, where it was then fed through reverse-osmosis to remove much of the water, before it was finally boiled in a 14-foot evaporator to make maple syrup.
Dan Kraker | MPR News

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Warm weather is putting a damper on this year's maple syrup harvest.

Sap runs best when daytime temperatures are above freezing and nighttime temperatures are below freezing. So far this year, conditions haven't been perfect.

But the harvest continues, and is still on track to yield more syrup than in 2012, one of the worst years for the Minnesota maple harvest.

"We have been collecting over the last week and we are getting some sap," said Scott Kudelka, a naturalist from the Minneopa area. "It's still clear — it hasn't turned milky on us, which is what you're afraid of as warmer temperatures go along. But it isn't as much as you would expect in a typical spring."