SKOWHEGAN (AP) – Some Maine syrup producers say the season is off to a late start with delays caused by cold weather and taps and tubing hidden by snow in northern Maine.

Bob Moore of Bob’s Sugar House is busy boiling sap this week, but he’d be a lot busier if he could tap all of his trees. He said at least 75 percent of his 5,000 trees are unreachable.

“I have trees that still have 3 feet of snow around them,” he said. “It’s not looking good right now.”

Maine’s maple syrup production can start anytime between mid-February and late March. But like most agriculture ventures, the season is subject to the whims of the weather.

“As usual, for some folks, especially in the far south of the state, sugaring season is over,” said Kathy Hopkins, a maple expert with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Skowhegan.

“But I doubt they’ll be done tapping in The County until June,” she said in joking reference to the state’s northernmost county, Aroostook. “In some places, they just can’t get to their trees and all their tubing is buried under snow.”

Freezing temperatures at night and daytime temperatures in the 40s are ideal. If it’s any colder than that, then the sap won’t flow. If the temperature shoots up to the mid-50s, then than won’t work, either.

Eric Ellis of Maine Maple Products of Madison, a company that taps 50,000 trees in northern Somerset County, said the season in the north country hasn’t even begun. “It’s a week to 10 days late,” he said.

Maine’s maple syrup production – a $7.2 million industry – is coming off of several years of mediocre production. In 2005, Maine produced 265,000 gallons, well below previous years. In 2007, that slipped even further, to 225,000 gallons.

“Although we are getting a higher price, because there is less syrup, we have no carry-over from last year’s crop,” Ellis said. “I think all we can hope for is a few weeks’ production.”

Hopkins said there is a bright spot, however. Syrup quality is good, she said, and “the season could go longer than usual where the snow keeps the woods cool.”

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-04-08-08 1430EDT