Hopkins speaks with MPBN about early sap flow
Kathy Hopkins, a maple syrup expert with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, WABI (Channel 5) and Portland Press Herald for reports about maple sap running early due to warmer weather. Early sap runs have been sporadic in the state and region at this point, according to the MPBN report, but Hopkins said she expects more sap to flow and boilers to fire up throughout the week. “The seasons have been eclectic lately,” she told MPBN. “They’ve been kind of all over the place — starting early, and last year it was actually very late, and if you go back through the record you can find early and late starts throughout history.” The MPBN report also was published by the Bangor Daily News and cited in a Mainebiz article on the topic. The Mainebiz report also included statistics from UMaine economist Todd Gabe. Including multiplier effects, Gabe found Maine’s maple syrup industry annually contributes $49 million in revenue, 805 full- and part-time jobs and $25 million in wages to the state’s economy, the article states.