COLRAIN — With the ceremonial tapping of a maple tree on the top of Heath Road Branch, spring unofficially began and Maple Month kicked off Friday morning.
Maple sugarers, state and local leaders and others gathered atop the mountain, and ate cider and doughnuts before the ceremony led by the Lively family of Sunrise Farms, state Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner John Lebeaux and Undersecretary of Environmental Affairs Daniel Sieger.
“This is where it begins,” Lebeaux said. “This is our ceremonial tapping of the first tree of the season. Massachusetts produces 70,000 gallons of maple syrup each year. It brings in more than $2 million a year.”
Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, said celebrating the ceremonial tapping of the first tree of the season was a great milestone.
“My team is dedicated to farms and farmers,” Comerford said. “They are the heartbeat of our districts. Sugar season is a big deal for everyone. It is for my family. And, it will take all of us to support these farms and farmers.”
Howard Boyden, president of the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association, said he was happy to stand “on the top of the world” Friday morning and welcome in maple season. He said he has been out straight for the past 10 days with his operation in Conway.
“It has been ‘sugargeddon,’” he laughed.
Coordinator of the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association Winton Pitcoff said the ceremonial tapping has been a tradition for decades.
“It’s a nice way to get sugar makers out for a few minutes during a really busy season,” Pitcoff said. “The maple business may not be the biggest in Massachusetts, but it’s one of the oldest. It has been a really good season so far.”
Erik and Jordan Lively and their family stood with everyone on the property, welcoming them and explaining their operation. The family began using a fully solar-powered electric evaporator this year, and other sugarers seemed quite interested. The “eco vap” uses electricity to heat the sap and creates steam that is captured and compressed, heating the sap to a boiling point instead of using a wood or gas-fired evaporator.
The eco vap produces approximately 15 gallons of syrup an hour and has an estimated operating cost of $3 to $4 an hour. Sunrise Farms operates on roughly 480 acres and has thousands of taps, with 90 percent of them feeding directly back to the sugar house. Last year, the farm produced 1,432 gallons of syrup.
The family farm, which is run by Erik Lively, his brother Jordan Lively, and their parents, Marilyn and Rockwell “Rocky” Lively, started tapping trees Jan. 28 and the first boil was Feb. 6, so Friday’s tapping was just ceremonial.
Sugaring season in Franklin County typically starts in late January or early February, when nights are still cold, but days are warming up, Pitcoff said, and it typically ends around mid-April. March is typically the peak of maple sugaring season.