Maple season off to early start

The annual maple season got off to another early start with warmups in parts of New England, and producers are hopeful the recent cold and snow will extend it.

Some producers in Vermont have been going strong and producing a fair amount since about mid-February, but historically the season has been later, said Matt Gordon, executive director of the Vermont Maple Sugar Producers Association.

Producers along the coast and in southern New Hampshire had early sap runs during late January and early February, according to Jim Fadden, president of the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association.

In Maine, however, some syrup makers are just getting started in the northern part of the state.

LISA RATHKE/AP Doug Bragg of Bragg Farm Sugarhouse in East Montpelier, Vt., tests sugar content of maple syrup.