Canada produces about 85 percent of the world’s maple syrup, a product valued at more than $354 million in 2009, with the vast majority coming from Quebec. The United States is both Canada’s largest export market and the world’s only other major producer. But these statistics and this rite of springtime are at risk as a changing climate impacts the health of sugar maples and our ability to efficiently harvest their sap.

There’s no immediate cause for concern. In Quebec, 2009 was a banner year, an anomaly with nearly double 2008’s maple syrup production. However, 2010’s production will likely dip below the 2008 level.  With the unpredictability of the start of the maple syrup season it has become difficult to make such projections. This is an issue that is happening from coast to coast and in the United States of America, not only Quebec.  This article looks into how climate change has affected the maple sugar farming industry from the observations of various maple syrup farmers themselves.