Though March is officially considered Massachusetts Maple Month, many sugar makers have already kicked-off the 2024 season, tapping maple trees for syrup as early as mid-January with no clear end to the season in sight.
“It looks like it’s going to be a good year,” said Massachusetts Maple Producers Association coordinator Missy Leab, of Ioka Valley Farm in Hancock.
“And just because we started boiling in January does not mean we are going to end any sooner than any other typical year,” said Leab.
Read more: 10 interesting facts about maple syrup that you need to know
Leab said she usually taps from late January until late March or early April, though she knows of other sugar makers tapping trees as early as Jan. 13.
“Quite a few people across the state have been able to get taps out and caught that last FOS,” referring to the sweet, carbohydrate compound found in syrup, also known as fructooligosaccharides. ”It was a wonderful, generous run for most people.”
Advertisement
MMPA Board of Director Richard Julian, of Deer Meadow Farm in Warren, said making syrup is “weather-dependent,” and sugar makers tap trees, boil sap and make syrup whenever they can.
The sugar shack at Deer Meadow Farm in Warren is where sap is boiled down into maple syrup. The farm is hosting a sugar shack tour on Maple Weekend, March 16-17, 2024.Courtesy of Deer Meadow Farm, Warren Ma
“For sap to run, it needs to be below freezing at night to build up pressure,” said Julian. “A sugar maker’s dream is 20 degrees at night and 45 degrees during the day.”
He said there is no way to be 100% sure of what the season will look like, but plans on at least six weeks of sugar making.
Julian said he starts tapping trees around Valentine’s Day and started boiling right on schedule this year, with his first boil on Feb. 11.
Advertisement
Read more: Crumbl’s new menu this week doesn’t just have cookies, it has also has cake
“I made 82 gallons (of syrup) last year, and 85 the year before,” said Julian. “We always hope for a good season.”
It takes about 43 gallons of “raw” sap to boil down into 1 gallon of maple syrup, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
“In the old days, people would tap in March and April,” said Julian, adding that people are now tapping around February or earlier.
In an article published last year by the USDA, Jason Lilley, Assistant professor of sustainable agriculture and maple industry educator for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, said the earlier sugaring season may be related to climate change.
Read more:Breakfast sandwich at Rutland café selling out on weekends
He said if this phenomenon was happening in a single season, he would have considered it an abnormality.
“However, this has been a widely recognized trend among the maple industry over several seasons,” said Lilley.
And 2024 is no exception.
Advertisement
High Hopes Farm Sugarhouse owner and sugar maker, Brian Rowe, of Worthington, said “times have changed,” and his sugarhouse is one that will extend its season this year, thanks to the early start.
“We started tapping about two and a half weeks ago,” said Rowe, who is on his 33rd year tapping trees in Massachusetts.
High Hopes Sugarhouse, at 113 Huntington Road in Worthington, will be open for the season and pancake breakfasts starting Saturday, Feb. 24, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., and will end the season on April 7.
MMPA Board of Director Bruce Hopper, of Pure BS Maple Shack in Auburn, said he started right on schedule this season, though believes he could have started earlier.
“I know some people who have bottled and tapped already,” said Hopper. “In my experience, I’ve learned ‘don’t go too hog-wild too early’.”
Advertisement
Read more: All 13 Girl Scout Cookie flavors, ranked worst to best
He said starting early can sometimes make the “liquid gold” crop more vulnerable to weather conditions such as wind or freezing temperatures – affecting the flow of the sap.
“When the wind is blowing, it’s too much,” he said.
University of New Hampshire professor of natural resources and environmental researcher Heidi Asbjornsen told the USDA, “in the Northeast, late winter and spring are the times of year that are experiencing the most dramatic climate change.”
And, “perhaps no surprise that tapping patterns are changing.”
As far as predicting how the crop yield will be this season, Hopper said “it’s a lot of just watching the weather. There isn’t any set day or time.”
Advertisement
1/46
Pure BS Maple Shack in Auburn.
Leab, who has nearly 30 years of sugar-making experience, said once the maples start producing buds, the syrup-making season is at its end.
“The flavor changes dramatically at that point also. So again, that’s Mother Nature’s control of when we start and when we finish,” said Leab.
With Massachusetts Maple Month in March, sugar makers are gearing up for a state-wide maple celebration known as Maple Weekend.
On Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17, sugar makers will participate in maple festivities with tours of their sugarhouses, showcasing their maple goods and offering hot samples of syrup.
Leab and the Ioka Valley Farm team at 3475 Hancock Road in Hancock, will celebrate by serving pancakes, waffles and French toast, offering sugarhouse tours and – of course – maple syrup tasting.
Advertisement
Read more: Pure BS Maple Shack taps into cannabis industry with infused syrup by Cultivate
“It’s a great time of year,” said Leab. “It’s a wonderful transition from the late winter through the early spring. I can’t think of any other way to celebrate mud season except for making maple syrup.”
Julian said Deer Meadow Farm, located at 60 Reed St. in Warren, will celebrate with a tour of the sugarhouse, tour(s) of the woods to showcase sugar bushes, and offer warm maple syrup samples.
Deer Meadow Farm will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, and 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 17.
High Hopes Sugarhouse of Worthington will offer the usual, seasonal all-you-can-eat pancake and breakfast buffet on Maple Weekend, in addition to a tour of the sugar shack and Q&A sessions.
“Everything is made in the same building,” said Rowe, “we can show the production on how it’s made.”
BOSTON (WHDH) – State public health officials have announced two confirmed cases of measles in Massachusetts this year.
The first case came from a school-aged resident who was exposed and diagnoses while out of state. This person has remained out of state during the infectious period.
The second case was diagnosed by an adult in Greater Boston. Officials say this person had recently returned from international travel with an uncertain vaccination history.
This person visited several locations. Both local and state health officials are working with the locations to identify and notify those who were potentially exposed.
Advertisement
“Our first two measles cases in 2026 demonstrate the impact that the measles outbreaks, nationally and internationally, can have here at home. Fortunately, thanks to high vaccination rates, the risk to most Massachusetts residents remains low,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD. “Measles is the most contagious respiratory virus and can cause life-threatening illness. These cases are a reminder of the need for health care providers and local health departments to remain vigilant for cases so that appropriate public health measures can be rapidly employed to prevent spread in the state. This is also a reminder that getting vaccinated is the best way for people to protect themselves from this disease.”
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox
Several Cape Cod and South Coast communities in Massachusetts are still digging out three days after a historic blizzard buried neighborhoods in several feet of snow, complicating emergency response efforts and prompting additional state support.
Cities and towns including Brockton, Taunton, New Bedford and Fall River received outside assistance Thursday as crews continued to plow streets and clear critical infrastructure. While road conditions have improved in many areas, officials said buried fire hydrants remain a serious concern.
NBC10 Boston obtained Taunton police body camera footage that captured first responders scrambling to locate a hydrant during a house fire on Plain Street.
“Looking for a hydrant now,” one first responder can be heard saying. “They’re all buried.”
Advertisement
At one point, an officer asked a bystanders for help.
A home was burned to the ground after an explosion that left two people injured.
Officials said the home exploded after a gas leak Wednesday, leaving a family of three displaced.
The mother and daughter were treated for serious burns.
William Shivers, who helped firefighters dig out a hydrant, described the urgency.
Advertisement
“We took the shovels, and we were just banging into the snow, looking for a fire hydrant,” he said.
After locating a hydrant using a map on his phone, Shivers and firefighters were able to clear it, but he said the delay could have been worse.
Two people are in the hospital and neighbors are worried about safety after an explosion and fire reduced a house to rubble.
“Imagine how many more how many more minutes that would have been wasted, you know, shoveling, just going through the snow,” said Shivers.
The case underscores the broader challenges facing first responders across the region following Monday’s storm.
Advertisement
Firefighters in Watertown also experienced delays accessing hydrants during a fire on Tuesday.
Snow and ice presented challenges as firefighters battled flames Tuesday.
Gov. Maura Healey toured parts of the South Coast on Thursday and said the region was hit especially hard.
“This whole region, I think, was ground zero,” she said.
Healey said the state will continue deploying resources to affected communities.
Advertisement
“We won’t take our foot off the gas at all,” she said.
The governor activated the Massachusetts National Guard. Troops assisted with snow removal in Plymouth, conducted wellness checks in Duxbury and provided medical and logistical support in Fall River.
Matt Medeiros of Fall River was praised by the governor and other officials for developing an app that allows residents to report unplowed streets.
“It’s just hoping to get those resources in and everyone just staying out of the way of trucks and equipment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mansfield implemented a parking ban at 8 p.m. Thursday to allow plows to clear roads more efficiently.
Advertisement
Matthew Lawlor of WalkUp Roslindale, a nonprofit advocating for clean and safe streets, emphasized that residents also play a role in public safety.
“The fire hydrant piece of it’s essential,” he noted.
Lawlor urged neighbors to clear hydrants near their homes before an emergency strikes, while also calling on elected officials to provide some incentives.
“To the extent that people can be encouraged to dig those hydrants out as soon as they can, so that it’s not waiting until something happens,” he said.
State officials said the blizzard slowed plowing operations, contributing to the lag in sending additional help to some communities. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said it hopes to deploy its 200 pieces of equipment to impacted areas within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Massachusetts residents will be able to take Google’s online training courses about artificial intelligence and other tech topics for free under a deal thatthe state announced on Thursday.
The courses, which cover topics ranging from how to use cutting-edge AI tools for work to applications in cybersecurity and e-commerce, normally cost $49 per month. Residents who complete the courses can earn professional certifications from the tech giant.
Governor Maura Healey, who unveiled the free offering at an event at Google’s office in Kendall Square, is going all-in on AI as she mounts her reelection campaign. At a time when polls show deep mistrust of AI and some Democrats such as Senator Bernie Sanders are calling for restricting AI, Healey has embraced the technology.
“We’re working to put the benefits of this technology to use for everybody,” Healey said. “We want our innovators and companies and talent to know that this is the place to be if you want to be on board with using AI to more quickly cure diseases and find treatments and solve problems.”
Advertisement
Healey previously set aside $100 million to spur AI business development in Massachusetts and earlier this month announced the state would contract with OpenAI to provide a version of ChatGPT for 40,000 state workers.
The government efforts got a big assist in January, when a group of local tech companies led by Whoop formed a private-sector coalition to promote AI startups. AI usage has exploded across many industries and stock market investors have driven up the price of some AI-related companies while selling off stocks of software companies that could be displaced by AI apps.
Google launched its online tech training courses almost 10 years ago and said it has issued professional certifications to more than one million people. Almost three-quarters of people who were certified said the courses helped them at work by leading to a promotion, new job, or raise, within six months, Google said.
The company’s new AI certification online course, announced earlier this month, covers topics such as learning how to write a prompt for an AI chatbot and how to use the apps to write software, a growing practice known as “vibe coding,” as it does not require deep knowledge of programming.
Lisa Gevelber, founder of the tech giant’s Grow with Google online training program, said the company has worked previously with other states such as Pennsylvania and Oklahoma to offer free tech training courses, but Massachusetts will be the first to offer the new AI course to residents for free.
Advertisement
The online training programs for residents will be available through the Massachusetts AI Hub, an initiative funded by Healey’s earlier $100 million AI effort.
Despite Healey’s recentefforts and the state’s long history as a leader in the tech industry, most of the development of AI and the birth of leading AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity has happened elsewhere. While local universities are producing plenty of AI research, only a handful of major startups, such as music generator Suno and model developer Liquid AI, are based in Massachusetts.
In her remarks on Thursday, Healey addressed some of the underlying concerns about the technology. “People are nervous about AI and the uses of AI and the potentially negative uses of AI, and what could happen,” she said. “The more of us that know AI, that understand AI, that work with AI, the safer I believe we’re going to be, and the more appropriate guardrails will be put in place, because more people will understand. And that’s why we’re promoting AI literacy and learning in our schools, and it’s why we’re making this available through Google.”
Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman.
