AUGUSTA – Although Maine has more than an estimated 50 million trees to tap for sap, and Vermont has less, Maine still ranks second in the nation in maple syrup production behind Vermont, according to Deanne Herman, marketing manager for the Maine Department of Agriculture.

The problem is that Maine’s trees can’t all be accessed.

“The reality is that we have a lot more tapable trees, but production is about 300,000 gallons a year, while Vermont has about 500,000 gallons annually,” Herman said.

Altogether, Maine’s retail syrup production raises $12 million to $15 million annually, but about $6.5 million through first sales at farms, which sell it at lower prices, Herman said.

There are about 250 commercial maple syrup producers in Maine. Some have between 100 and 200 taps, while others, mostly in northern Maine, have more than 100,000 taps. All told, it’s about 1.5 million taps, Herman said.

What many people don’t realize is that a lot of Maine’s syrup production is in Somerset County from sophisticated Canadian producers who have leased the trees through paper companies, Herman said.

Because of the remote location, however, these large-scale producers ship the syrup in barrels to Maine distributors who then package and sell it to smaller distributors.

It takes a combination of below freezing nights and warm days to induce sap to run to start the annual spring rite.

“So, you never know until the end of the season how good it will be. Sweetness of syrup is not affected by a late season. It may be a tough year this year for overall production, but they’ll have maple syrup. Maine Maple Sunday will be the big show that it always is, as far as the consumer says,” Herman said.