WASHINGTON, Vt.—Northern Vermont sugarmakers are enjoying a good maple season, and above average in some cases, while the southern portion of the state has struggled.

“We typically dont make this much syrup in March,” said 2,000-tap sugarmaker James Buck, who today hosted the annual tree tapping ceremony with Vt. Gov. Phil Scott. “After today, we will be at 3/4 of a crop.”

Buck said he tapped on Valentines Day and caught the first warm up of the winter. “It feels really good to be where we’re at right now,” he told The Maple News.

Kevin Lawyer, a 12,000-tap producer in Waterbury, Vt. and a sales rep for Leader + H2O said his season is also going well.

“If you are a calendar sugarmaker then you might be having a hard time right now,” Lawyer said. “I reccomend that sugarmakers get out early in the coming years. Use the first warm up to get your woods ready.”

Steve Hagenbush, a 300-tap producer on 3/16 lines in Huntington, Vt. was also happy with the season so far.

“The flavor has been very good,” he said, adding that he was at 1/3 to half of a crop so far.

In Randolph, Vt. David Silloway and John Silloway said their 24,000-tap farm was at 3/4 of a crop. They tapped at the end of January and the early start paid off.

“We have not seen much light syrup,” David Silloway said. “And our sugar content has been dropping. We were at 2 percent and lately we’ve been at 1.2.”

Higher up in the state, Rick Marsh in Jeffersonville, Vt. was at 4.5 pounds per tap already.

“We’re doing very well,” he told The Maple News on Monday. He said his farm began tapping their 10,000 right after New Year’s Day.

The warm winter has been noticeable, Marsh said.

“We are a full two weeks ahead of last year,” he said.

Further south in the state, production has been a little slower.

Young producer Keegan Bryant in Pawlet, Vt. said he was at 930 gallons produced off of his 4500 taps. But he was hoping for a good week this week, with some freezing nights in the forecast.

In Shaftsbury, Vt., father and son producers David Mance and Dave Mance were struggling, with low production and even lower sugar content.

“It’s been very low,” David Mance told The Maple News on Saturday. “We’re at 1 percent sugar; maybe 1.2.”