The damage to maple syrup farms in the path of Michigan’s recent catastrophic ice storm is “unimaginable.”

That’s how it’s described by David Noonan, president of the Michigan Maple Syrup Association.

More than 100,000 sap-producing sugar maples snapped under the weight of ice, he said. The state’s annual maple syrup production will likely be down 25% or more, about 50,000 gallons, this year.

The ice storm hit the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan from March 28-30 – in the middle of sap harvesting season – toppling trees, power poles and power lines in 12 counties and wreaking havoc in unforeseen ways. A state of emergency was quickly declared to coordinate recovery efforts.

The area is home to more than 30% of the state’s syrup producers. With no power, no water and downed trees crushing their sap lines, some of those farms could not produce for seven to 10 days, Noonan said. Many are back in production now after losing about one-third of their harvest. Others suffered so much damage that they won’t resume production this season - possibly never, he said.

The effects of this storm on the industry will be felt for years – even generations – to come, said Noonan, who owns and operates D&D Farms near Empire, which was not impacted by the storm. It takes 30 to 40 years for a sugar maple to grow large enough to be tapped; it will take decades to replace what has been lost.

Maple Moon Sugarbush & Winery in Petoskey estimates $250,000 in damage to their forest. That doesn’t include production losses for this season and future years. Their sap lines are a “total loss.”

Like many others, Maple Moon is asking for volunteers to help with storm cleanup. They will have workdays this weekend, April 12-13. People with chainsaw experience and those able to move debris are needed.

Farmers and communities are coming together to support each other, Noonan said, pointing to workdays at other farms that had 30-75 volunteers.

Last weekend, about 75 volunteers were at Hidden Acres Sugar Bush.

It was a godsend that means the family-owned business “may actually be able to produce enough syrup this year to stay afloat,” co-owner Jennifer Richard said on social media.

Volunteers freed the farm’s maple lines from downed trees, a job that “would have taken us years to accomplish,” she said.

While there’s more work to be done, production is up and running. As of Tuesday, the farm had produced “five barrels post ice apocalypse.”

On Wednesday, Hidden Acres was still without power and running on generators.

They aren’t the only ones, Noonan said, adding that some remote farms expect to be without power for up to two more weeks. Purchasing generators and fuel is an added cost on top of production losses, and damage to trees and sap lines, he said.

More than 27,000 homes and businesses remain without power today, 13 days after the storm began raining down ice that clung to everything.

“It’s like a tornado went through,” Noonan said of 4D Acre Farms in Hawks where he and five others recently helped with storm clean up.

He described a scene of devastation: The tops of sugar maple trees were broken off, limbs scattered across the forest floor, and sap lines crushed and broken.

“It’s unimaginable, unless you’ve seen it for yourself,” Noonan said.

4D took to Facebook on March 30 to describe the damage as it was happening.

“Words and pictures can’t accurately describe the destruction so many of us in Northern Michigan are enduring right now,” 4D Acre Farms said. “The sight of nature in such turmoil. The sound of it as you helplessly stand in your yard listening, as trees break off like they were toothpicks up close and in the distance. No heat, no power, no water. We aren’t sure at this point if our syrup season is over.”

The farm is back in production after the volunteer workday, Noonan said.

Despite the devastation, Noonan expects Michigan to remain the No. 5 producer of maple syrup in the country. The loss likely won’t affect syrup prices at the grocery store either, he said.

So far, there’s no state or federal aid.

“We’re hoping that the state will come through with some kind of disaster relief for us,” Noonan said. “It’s a hard sell because they probably don’t think that the maple syrup industry is very big. Hopefully they’ll open their eyes and help us.”

A GoFundMe campaign is taking donations to help the farmers. More than $10,000 has been raised. The syrup association will distribute funds to affected farms.

Source - https://www.mlive.com