ALBANY, NY—
March is Maple Month, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul is encouraging New Yorkers to support their local maple producers, highlighting the importance of this industry to New York’s agricultural economy, while proposing additional funding in her FY26 Executive Budget to further grow the maple industry and help New York become the leading maple innovator.
New York State continues to rank second [behind Vermont] in the nation in maple production, and in 2024, maple production increased to 846,000 gallons, up nearly 100,000 gallons of maple syrup from the 2023 season.
“Maple Month is officially underway, offering New Yorkers from every corner of the State the chance to support the hardworking producers of this sweet agricultural crop,” Governor Hochul said. “New York State has a long history with this delicious crop, and continues to be home to a thriving community of maple producers making some of the most delicious and innovative maple products in the world”.
New York is celebrating the state’s syrup production with two Maple Weekends, March 22-23 and March 29-30, full of events and activities, along with other special events and promotions throughout the month.
Throughout the month of March each year and, in particular, the last two weekends of the month, maple farms across the state open their doors to the public to provide a chance to taste pure maple syrup, right from the source, and experience the unique family tradition of making maple syrup in New York State. Producers offer tours and pancake breakfasts, sell maple products, and demonstrate the syrup-making process, which includes the traditional system of hanging buckets on trees or more modern methods of production using vacuum systems to increase the yield of sap per tree. A searchable list of Maple Weekend events is available at mapleweekend.nysmaple.com.
“I encourage all New Yorkers to participate in Maple Weekends to sample some of the world-class items that New York’s maple community has to offer”, Governor Hochul added.
According to a press release by the Governor’s Press Office, currently, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets supports the maple industry through the New York State Budget — which includes funding for promotion and educational programs — as well as through investments in research projects, such as Cornell University’s Maple Program’s Arnot Teaching Forest, and through its NYS Grown & Certified and Taste NY marketing programs.
