Maple industry threatened as predictable weather melts away

LACONIA — New Hampshire’s iconic maple syrup industry is at risk, and the NH Maple Producers Association is spreading the word.

At an advocacy event held last month at Lakes Region Community College following the state’s annual Maple Weekend, unpredictable weather patterns and the havoc they're wreaking on one of the state’s biggest tourism drivers was the leading topic of conversation.

Severe drought in 2025, and rising temperatures, are making New England maple trees hard to tap, and while the Granite State fared better than its neighbors Massachusetts and Connecticut, it still wasn’t a stellar year.

Maple Producers President Andrew Chisholm shared statistics from maple syrup producers around the state. At one farm, only 2 ounces of sap was collected per day per tap, compared to other farms harvesting around 22 ounces.

“The trees just aren't running. And if they are running, they're running incredibly slow,” said Chisholm, who's been at the helm for the past six years. “The warming days have been a factor in prior years, but this year, we have that traditional winter, but now we're seeing the drought impacts that are starting to hit.”

Tariffs and associated confusion were a major economic hurdle for the industry this year, too.

Maple syrup containers were really hard to get this year from Canada. The shipment didn't arrive in NH until March 17 — just in time for Maple Weekend. But it proved problematic for producers who had nowhere to store the product, or time to prepare for their largest selling weekend of the year.

“We went 15 months with no containers for maple syrup. People were scrambling left and right. A lot got put into bulk barrels, and it was just really a challenge,” Chisholm said. “Part of it was due to the supplier of our container company being sold to a private equity investment banking firm, and resold again to a company in Canada. Now our containers are imported in Canada, which actually is working out to be a cheaper process for us than it was in the past. But we're finally able to get those containers, which is taking some of the anxiety off of the producers statewide.”

The Climate Impacts Maple Dinner, held March 26, was sponsored by the League of Conservation Voters, The Union of Concerned Scientists and the New Hampshire Chapter of the Sierra Club, in partnership with Lakes Region Community College’s Community Table.

Rob Werner, the state director of the League of Conservation Voters, said the maple dinner was celebrating its 10th anniversary, and hoped the conversation helped raise awareness about the industry, while showcasing the delights of maple syrup.

“We always use this as a way to tell people about our industry. This is an obviously iconic and important industry to our state,” he said.

The dinner did more than just bring awareness to the struggles in the maple industry, it also highlighted the talent of budding chefs in the Lakes Region.

An experiential dinner, prepared by the Hospitality Club at LRCC, featured maple as the star of the show. It was the first year the NH Maple Producers Association opted for a dinner instead of a breakfast, and it did not disappoint. Most students logged a 12-hour day, including Dylan Higginbottom, president of the Hospitality Club.

“I'm very happy to be here. I graduated from [Seacoast School of Technology], down in Exeter. I was a second-year high school student, and I took a gap year, thinking that I didn't need a culinary degree, but being in the industry, I really pushed myself,” Higginbottom said. “I came here for my first year, learned, joined the club before school even opened, and got the experience that I needed.”

Bill Walsh, associate professor of culinary arts at LRCC, was grateful for the opportunity it provided his students to showcase their creative talents.

“This is not something they customarily do, and usually they're in class. The service that they do is part of that class,” he said. “So, this is above and beyond that. So many students got here at 7 this morning.”

Werner emphasized how the partnership came together with the students.

“They put together this whole menu. I said, ‘Hey, I'm looking for a maple dinner.’ And they’re like, ‘Challenge accepted.’”

No longer is maple syrup just for breakfast, with dishes such as maple and sweet potato soup, pork chops with maple bacon jam, maple-glazed salmon, and desserts like maple cream pie, and spice cake cupcakes topped with maple candy.

Before everyone chowed down, a staffer read a letter of support on behalf of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and a video was played with a message from Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH).

“This event is a great opportunity to highlight New Hampshire's maple production and raise awareness of the challenges in the maple production due to climate change,” Shaheen’s letter reads. “New Hampshire understands the dangers of climate change, including increased temperatures, sea level rise, thinner snow pack, and more frequent and intense storms. These effects threaten the long-term survival of iconic New Hampshire industries and attractions.”

For more information about the NH Maple Producers Association, visit nhmapleproducers.com.

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.