News : General News
The State of the Syrup -- Sugarmakers have Positive Outlook, Concerns over Invasive Insects
November 16, 2009 -- It’s a good time to be a sugarmaker.
That was the consensus of those in attendance at the Windham County Sugarmakers annual meeting on Thursday.
Prices are currently coming down to a more reasonable amount, and last year was one of the strongest sugarmaking years in recent history.
"I had the biggest crop I ever had," said Bruce Bascom of Bascom Maple Farm in Alstead, N.H., whose family has been sugaring since 1853.
"We got 24,000 gallons, the most ever bar none," he said.
About 20 sugarmakers attended the meeting in the Brattleboro Savings & Loan meeting room, where members of the organization used their time together to learn more about different aspects of the industry and to elect new officers, including a new president.
Windham County Forester Bill Guenther gave a presentation on the Asian Longhorned Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer, non-native species of insect that have been known to cause tree damage in North America. Read the full story to get the details.
"The Asian Longhorned Beetle is of particular concern, Guenther said, because it has a taste for every species of maple."
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