Maple syrup production hit hard by ice storm

The ice storm wreaked havoc on maple trees, disrupting syrup production.

The effect of the ice storm has been felt far and well beyond the streets and homes in Simcoe County.

Local maple syrup producers have been working to recover what’s left of their sugarbushes, after the devastation left many dealing with heavy damage, nearly two weeks after the storm hit.

At Hutchinson’s Maple Syrup in Oro-Medonte, nearly 50 per cent of its production has been lost.

“It’s a complete stop because there was so much damage to those lines and everything,” said Orval Hutchinson, who helps his son, Doug Hutchinson and his wife, Michelle O’Sullivan, who own the syrup business. “It’s going to take all summer and then some to probably clean stuff up.”

Hutchinson’s estimates that 80 per cent of its trees will likely not survive into next year. However, it has been able to salvage some of what it already made and will be able to continue selling into the spring.

At nearby Shaw’s Maple Syrup, the larger producer had many of its own trees come down, while others lost branches.

“The good seasons allow you to have money for generators and things like that,” said Tom Shaw, Owner of Shaw’s Maple Syrup. “So, we’re not going to have that this year, but we’re going to get the bills paid.”

The producer has been working around the clock to restore its lines to continue, which it has done successfully. While Shaw admits it will lose some of its trees, the damage wasn’t as severe as others experienced.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do to get things back to functioning,” he added. “But we’ll be ready for next year and be excited to see everybody again.”

At Maple Grove in Severn, owner Brent Beers said the ice storm cut production dead in its tracks.

“As far as product goes, we likely lost around $4,000 worth of product,” he told CTV News.

The medium-sized producer large trees falling down, particularly on its longest line, became its main priority over the last two weeks.

Beers said he anticipates he will be trying to clear trees and branches for months to come from deep within his sugarbush but was able to turn the corner last weekend to continue selling.

“After all that work and working late until dark, we were able to get pumping sap to the sugar camp and boiled all weekend,” he added.

From producer to producer, the damage has been variable.

According to the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers’ Association, some businesses have lost as many as 80 per cent of its trees, while others only suffered minor damage or came out unscathed.

“It was such a mixed bag this year,” said John Williams, executive director of the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers’ Association. “I have talked to a lot of people about the 1998 ice storm and I would say, this is not quite as bad as 98 overall, but the nice thing for them is they weren’t in the maple season. That’s kind of the unique factor this time, we had a lot of people during the season say they just lost production.”

Williams emphasized that there are many producers who have been devastated, but added that the vast majority will likely be able to continue producing for years to come.