Winter at Fortune Farms

It’s been busy at Fortune Farms!  We had excellent maple production last spring and sales were very good throughout 2025.  We’d like to thank our loyal customers for their support of our family business!

Our major projects in 2025 included continued logging operation to remove diseased beech trees, the removal and replacement of a large section of our pipeline system, and a renovation of our sugar camp to improve the functionality for syrup production. This was the third year of major forest work at the home farm, and we hope to complete beech removal and pipeline replacement in the last 10-acre section next fall.

We are regularly asked for our predictions of the upcoming season. The volume of sap we collect is the key factor driving production. This is largely determined by the weather during the sap flow period which typically occurs from mid-March to mid-April.  We need a long period where the days are warm and the nights are frosty to generate large sap flows. 

In addition, there are natural factors to consider as well, specifically the sugar content of the sap that we collect.   The growing conditions during the summer months affect the trees’ capacity to produce starch, which is converted to sugar during the winter and spring.  The dry summer that we experienced in 2025 impacted the forest. Trees in drier areas slowed their rate photosynthesis – manufacturing less starch and possibly yielding less sugar in sap.  Less sugar in sap means less production from the sap that we gather.  There is no science which we can use to make predictions, so we won’t know what the sugar content in our sap is until sap flow begins.  

Current weather trends and forecasts predict cold through February so we are thinking production will begin in March, likely around the middle of the month.  If the cool weather patterns dominate the spring, we should make syrup well into April and enjoy a decent season.  We make sure we address the things we can control – being tapped on time, having our collection and production equipment and personnel ready to go - so we are prepared for the sap when the run begins.

Our farm is currently open on Saturdays from 10 to 2 and will open on a daily basis, welcoming spring visitors on our trails, with the Kettle Boys and Shanty Men operating when the sap runs.  We are looking forward to working with our team and greeting our friendly customers again.

We are now taking orders for the 2026 crop. Please place an online order, send a message through the website, or give us a call at 613 256 5216.  Stay tuned to our blog for news and updates.