The process of filling up your maple syrup bottles began this week as many producers headed out into the woods to collect sap from their trees. At the beginning of March, most maple syrup producers start tapping trees and either hang buckets or bags to collect sap or use a tubing system to speed up the process. The combination of cold nights and warmer days usually speeds up the process. In Door and Kewaunee counties, forecasts went from cold weather warnings and more than a foot of snow to temperatures in the mid-40s to low 50s, prompting maple syrup producers like Casco’s Bill Roethle to act fast.

After tapping approximately a week ago, Roethle says he has collected well over 500 gallons of sap, which can produce about 10 gallons of maple syrup. Like the apples and pumpkins he produces in the fall, Roethle says harvesting the sap is the most rewarding part of the experience. Wisconsin maple syrup producers made 458,000 gallons of syrup in 2024, which is good for fourth in the nation.