A tree grows in Middlebury Gov. Douglas '72 strikes sap on ceremonial first sugaring day

Author: Grady Ross

Vermont maple trees brought $22 million of economic activity to the state last year, and in 2008 the state yielded 500,000 of the nation's 1.635 million gallons of maple syrup. On March 6, Governor Jim Douglas '72 celebrated this maple monopoly amid festivities and ritual at Mead Chapel.

Each year, in keeping with Vermont tradition, the Governor taps the "first maple" sometime in early March, officially kicking off the sugaring season. The ceremony rotates locations throughout Vermont from year to year, and this spring the formalities fell into the hands of the Addison County Sugar Makers' Association, which hosted the event at the College. Community members turned out to watch Douglas strike sap and to collect goodies distributed by local sugar makers. Vermont's Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts pointed out the importance of the day's events.

"It signifies the start of a new agricultural season," Tebbetts said.

Tebbetts speaks for the entire state: Vermont has a lot to be excited about in the spring. As Douglas pointed out, Vermont is the nation's leader in maple production. Producers are not anticipating a decline this year, even in the current economic climate.

"The one bright spot in the agricultural economy right now is the price of maple sugar, which is rising," Tebbetts said. If the maple industry is affected at all, he predicts, it will be affected "in a positive way: so many people are looking to diversify. People are looking to start sugaring who haven't before."

This might be attributed to the dynamic aspect of maple production. "The industry is always changing," said Tebbetts. "That's the interesting part."

Don Dolliver, a Starksboro sugar maker, has been in the maple business for 20 years. "Technology is different than it used to be," he said, citing innovations like reverse osmosis, pipelines and vacuum lines. "People have the idea that sugaring is about buckets and horses, but that's changed."

There are those who remain faithful to original sugaring techniques: Tom Kerr, who taps trees in Goshen, has never used pipeline. Using only buckets he produces 20 to 25 gallons of syrup each year. Douglas used this old-fashioned method during the ceremony, where he successfully hit sap to cheers from the crowd.

President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz had something else to cheer about. The College was "thrilled," he said, to have been chosen as the site of the ceremony.

"We are a part of the local town and state community," he said. "We are linked to Vermont, and this is Vermont at its best. It's a clich