Maple sap is running in WI..........it started early .......

[bello]

3. It's more than just above twenty degrees

We are maple syrup hobbyists in east central Iowa. Yeah, that’s outside of the area usually considered suitable for making maple syrup. But since we are just doing it for fun, it doesn’t matter that we may not be super efficient.

One of the conditions for a good sap flow is to have cold nights and warm days. A rule of thumb is forty degrees F for highs and twenty-five F for lows. Then the sap runs up the tree during the warm days and back down during the cool nights. The taps collect their cut of the sap both ways.

Now the problem arises is that one of the first artifacts of global warming is that the lows do not get as low as the normally did. Hence, you don’t have the temperature differential needed for really good sap flows.

So, the best areas are moving north and also becoming less productive. Sigh.