Matt Gallagher, director of programs and operations at Great Mountain Forest, stokes a gleaming sap evaporator—emblem of potential challenges ahead for maple syrup producers. A possible tariff war between the United States and Canada could affect the maple business since most equipment used to make the product comes from Canada. Peter Gregg, publisher of The Maple News, said maple sap evaporators, tubing collection systems, reverse osmosis machinery and vacuum pumps are mostly imported from Canada, the world’s largest producer of maple syrup. “The tariffs affect us because most of the manufacturers of the sugaring equipment are based out of Canada and costs could go up for the United States consumers of Canadian made equipment,” said Gregg. For now, he added, maple producers should just focus on producing the best maple syrup.

–Jude Mead