The numbers for 2023 are released June 9, once producers complete the survey and return it to the USDA.
CONCORD, NH – Maple producers from New Hampshire and across the Northeast are still removing their taps and wiping the sap from their hands from the 2023 season, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture hopes they will take the time to answer the annual industry survey.
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is sending its 2023 Maple Syrup Inquiry to approximately 1,600 producers in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland on April 28. New Hampshire has about 350 producers, according to the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association.
The annual survey produces data that maple producers, processors and commodity markets rely on to make business decisions, the USDA’s Northeast Regional Office, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said in a Tuesday news release.
The USDA’s Northeastern Region has the country’s top maple producers, responsible for 4.40 million gallons of the 5.03 million produced nationally in 2022, according to the USDA. The big production numbers are helped by having the longest maple seasons in the country – Vermont’s in 2022 was 40 days, followed by 36 days for Maine and New Hampshire. All three states celebrate the season with maple syrup weekends at the end of March.
Vermont leads the nation in maple syrup production, with 2.55 million gallons in 2022, 51% of the nation’s production. New Hampshire was fifth nationally in 2022, producing 167,000 gallons. Ahead of it was Maine, Maine, which produced 672,000, good for third in the U.S.; New York, second, with 845,000 gallons and Wisconsin, fourth, with 440,000 gallons.
The numbers for 2023 are released June 9, once producers complete the survey and return it to the USDA.
New Hampshire maple syrup production in 2021 added $8.24 million to the state’s economy. Economic statistics for 2022 will also be released June 9.
The USDA has made changes to this year’s survey that it hopes will make it easier for producers to complete by the May 8 deadline, as well as provide a larger variety of statistics. Last year, a working group made up of members from the International Maple Syrup Institute offered suggestions to the National Agriculture Statistics Survey to improve the maple data series and questionnaire. As a result, this year’s survey is shorter, but also has new questions on acreage, sales and unprocessed sap, the USDA said.
NASS will publish the data in its annual Crop Production report on June 9 and the Quick Stats database at quickstats.nass.usda.gov.
Producers who want more information about the survey, as well as NASS statistics, crop reports and more, may visit the NASS respondent portal website.