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Short but sweet: Are days numbered for a cherished New England tradition?

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Maple Moon Farm owner Frank Ferrucci gives Evan Herrera a taste of sugaring work.(Kerry Ann Hayon photos)

LEBANON - Maple Sugar Weekend in Maine is always the fourth weekend in March, leaving Maple Moon Farm LLC owner Frank Ferrucci to wish for just one thing: to have the sap still running so he can show folks how it's made from start to finish.

"Last year we tapped on Valentine's Day and were done by the third week of March," Ferrucci said on Wednesday. "It seems like we're starting earlier and finishing earlier than in years past."

And recently Ferrucci's sentiments were backed up.

Jim Fadden, president of the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association, recently confirmed that "In the southern part of the state, they definitely are tapping and harvesting sap ... much earlier than they ever have."

Maple Moon Farm, located on Chick Road, comprises about 120 acres with about 15 acres dedicated to sugaring, or maple syrup production.

This year Ferrucci, who runs the farm along with Jenny Schultz, said they started tapping trees at the end of January and had a "nice long run like almost two weeks" where it was in the upper 30s during the day and below freezing at night.

That's what you need for prime sap flow, he said.

"Then things just stopped for a while when the frigid temps came back even throughout the day.

"Today it's waking back up, the buckets are running," he said on Wednesday. "I'm outside in my sweatshirt. It's beautiful."

While this year's temperatures have been a little erratic, Ferrucci said his production is dramatically up, thanks to tubing he installed last year that is able to capture more sap with less labor, that is once you install it.

Another benefit of using tubing is that if temperatures rise and sap stops flowing a couple of days, bacteria can build up causing the bucket taps to close. That doesn't happen with tubing.

"The only thing bad about tubing is the squirrels," he said. "They'll chew through the tubing to get to the sap. They love the sap."

Still, the efficiency of tubing can't be disputed. Ferrucci said as of last week he'd already collected more sap than all of last year.

Ferrucci said having a cold snap doesn't necessarily shut down production, however if they have a prolonged warm stretch, that usually ends the season as leaves begin to come out and the sap stops flowing.

He loves sugaring and teaching young people about how it's made much the same way as it was hundreds of years ago, but worries some day it won't be part of the southern Maine and New Hampshire landscape.

"Last year on March 8 it was 75. This March 2 it was 65," he said. "Some say in 50 years if it continues to warm the way it has we won't have a maple syrup industry this far south in the state, they'll have to move north."

For now Ferrucci says the temperatures are doing OK for his 370 taps, and hopes they'll stay that way at least through March, if not into April the way it used to.

By the way, Maple Moon translates from an Abenaqui word that denotes the name of the full moon that rises during sugaring season.

Maple Moon Farm is expected to be open this Sunday unless the temperatures are too cold, he said.

It will also be open both days during Maple Sugar Weekend March 25-26.

For more information on Maple Moon Farm LLC, its weekend hours and events, click here.

You can also check out their Facebook page at Maple Moon Sugarhouse.

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