A Harsh Season’s Sweet Rewards: Vermont Maple Syrup

The sap is flowing in the maple trees of the northern forests, and this year that is not something to be taken for granted. The unusually harsh ice storm that ripped through northern New England and Eastern Canada in January damaged many maples putting many sap farmers out of business, at least for this season. But Robert Horrigan is one of the lucky ones. His plot escaped the brunt of the storm, and so his family’s time-honored tradition of tapping and boiling is well underway. Producer Steve Delaney visited the Horrigan farm in Fairfield, Vermont and sent us this report.