Spectrum News 1 came out to the farm in the first week of February 2024, when a run of warm days had Wisconsin sugarmakers tapping weeks ahead of the usual calendar. Jeff explained what the trees need, cold nights and warm days, and why a season is never something you plan.
"We have now tapped on February 2 this year. It's all about Mother Nature."
The piece also looks at how vacuum tubing and monitoring have changed sugaring across the northern states and Canada. That is the tubing running through our bush below, and the tap map Jeff checks on his phone.
It retells, too, how Andy started with one backyard maple in Janesville in 2009.
Watch "Temperatures leave Wisconsin maple farmers in a sticky situation" at Spectrum News 1 (Rhonda Foxx, February 4, 2024). Stills courtesy of Spectrum News.