SWANTON, Vt.—The U.S. syrup crop should come in about average or slightly below, based on interviews with producers and packers.

While some states had bad years, like Ohio and Indiana, others had barn busters, like Maine, especially on the Golden Road.

“We’re up 15 percent over last year,” said 11,000-tap producer Rodney Hall of East Dixfield, Vt. who attended the dealer open house weekend in Franklin County, Vt. at the end of April.

Hall was one of many producers who experienced cooperative sugaring weather this season.

Henry Lambright of Brown City, Mich. said he hit almost a half gallon of syrup per tap.

“We made 594 gallons on 1,200 taps,” he told The Maple News.

Arnie Piper of Hyde Park, Vt. said his crop at 100 percent of last year.

“We had a lot of nitre,” he told The Maple News. He said he made about 40 percent Golden.

Stephen and Betsy Fleury in Richford, Vt. said they enjoyed the biggest sap run they’d ever seen in mid-March.

“It ran for about 80 hours,” Fleury said. “Never seen it run that hard.”

In Massachusetts, many producers were not too happy. The season was too warm there.

Rob Leab of Hancock, Mass. said he made 4.4 pounds per tap. Paul Sena in Worthington, Mass. made only 3.5.

In other parts of Michigan, producers were frustrated with a short season.

David Hughes said he only had a 2.5 week long season. Far too short to make a full crop.

Don Russell in Hope, Pa. said he had a good crop and said 66 percent of his syrup was dark.

Ed Smith in Cambridgeport, Vt. also said most of his syrup was darker grades.

“I made almost no Golden,” he told the Maple News.

In Western New York, producers did well.

Matthew Sage of Warsaw, N.Y. said his farm made 6.6 pounds per tap.

“We got tapped in early February,” he said. “We made beautiful syrup. The sugar content was down.”

Meanwhile, there was lots of talk about tariffs at the open houses.

Jerad Sutton of CDL USA told the Maple News that almost all maple equipment was exempt from tariffs since it was deemed “agricultural use.”

There was much talk about bulk syrup prices too.

Most of the packers in the U.S. were paying $2.40 or more per pound for the table grades.

There was anticipation that the price might even go up from there.

Bulk buyers were paying more for organic and other premiums.

Consumer demand is still at an all-time high for real maple syrup and at the beginning of the season there was a syrup shortage.