• Total
1.64 million gallons, up 30 percent from 2007• TapsEstimated at 7.46 million, up 2 percent from 2007 total of 7.29 million
• Tap yield
Average yield for each tap — 0.219 gallons, up 27 percent from 2007
• Top states 1. Vermont - 500,000 gallons, an 11 percent increase from 2007 2. New York - 322,000, an increase of 44 percent 3. Maine - 215,000 gallons, 4 percent below 20074. Wisconsin - 130,000 gallons, a 45 percent increase 5. Ohio - 118,000 gallons, up 57 percent and highest production on record since 1959 6. Michigan - 100,000 gallons, up 67 percent and highest production since 19647. Pennsylvania - 95,000 gallons, 86 percent above 2007 8. New Hampshire - 85,000 gallons, an increase of 12 percent 9. Massachusetts - 55,000 gallons, up 83 percent, the highest production since 1944. 10. Connecticut - 15,000 gallons, the highest on record since tracking started in 1992.
• Conn. reaction
A sampling of comments from Connecticut maple sugarers — who had their best season:"We ran out of wood, jugs and ambition, so we pulled out taps." "In 35 years, 2008 was the best season ever!""It was a great year. We had too much sap.""We would have made more, but we ran out of wood.""Sap ran like crazy. Buckets were full every night."
"We had a hard time keeping up.""It was a short, intense and productive season."
"We had a hard time keeping up.""It was a short, intense and productive season."
• Maine reaction
A sampling of comments from Maine maple sugarers — who had the poorest season:"It was horrible. Worst season I ever had. Too much snow, too cold.""Once the weather became just right, the season zipped along and was over. It was the worst season ever.""It started out too cold and then was too warm. The weather did not cooperate.""Temperatures went from 30 to 60 in a week and a half. It was a disaster."
• Maple facts The sugar maple and black maple are the most common trees tapped. Trees must be 30 to 40 years old and more than 10 inches in diameter. A tree can give as much as a gallon of sap per tap each day. It typically takes 30 to 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. The perfect weather for sap flow is above freezing during the day and below freezing at night.
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