Staff photo / Chris McBride Jerad Sutton demonstrates the series of tubing that snakes through the backyard, connecting tree to tree, channeling sap from each type before guiding it inside to his home-based production setup in Southington.

YOUNGSTOWN — Usually a labor of love, this year’s maple syrup season is proving to be a challenge as Mother Nature has thrown local tappers John Slanina and Jerad Sutton a curveball.

Slanina, a member of the Rocky Ridge Neighborhood Association based in Youngstown, and Sutton, owner of Sutton’s Maple Syrup in Southington, are both feeling the sting of an unpredictable tapping season. Unusual weather patterns have made this year’s harvest particularly challenging.

“Our worst year ever was last year, and actually, this year is shaping up to maybe be our new worst year ever,” said Slanina, who helps run a community-based maple syrup operation in Mill Creek Park. “It just comes down to the trees and the weather. We’re entirely weather-dependent.”

Slanina’s group, a nonprofit that uses syrup sales to fund community development projects, typically produces approximately 400 bottles of syrup annually. But last year, they managed only 70 bottles, and this year’s output is trending similarly. The ideal conditions for tapping, which are freezing nights followed by above-freezing days, have been elusive.

“Sometimes we tap too early, and everything freezes. Last year, we tapped too late and missed the beginning of the season,” Slanina said. “If it’s too hot for too many days, the trees start to bud, and they dry up. It’s all about timing, and this year, the weather just hasn’t cooperated.”

The process of tapping trees is no small feat. Slanina’s team drills 2-inch holes into sugar maples, inserts spiles (small tubes that act like straws), and hangs bags to collect the sap. Volunteers then gather the sap daily, hauling it to a sugar shack where it’s boiled down into syrup.

“It’s a ton of hard labor, especially when you’re relying on volunteers,” Slanina said. “But it’s also a lot of fun. It brings the community together, and there’s something magical about turning sap into syrup.”

Meanwhile, Sutton, a fourth-generation syrup maker, is also grappling with the whims of the weather. His operation, which taps nearly 1,500 trees, relies on a delicate balance of cold nights and warm days to get the sap flowing.

“This year was a little later than usual,” Sutton said. “In previous years, we were making syrup sooner. But you adjust to what the weather gives you and make the most of it.”

Sutton’s family-run business uses a network of tubing to collect sap from hard and soft maple trees, which is then processed using reverse osmosis and evaporators to create the final product. Despite the challenges, Sutton remains optimistic, aiming to produce between 700 and 800 gallons of syrup this season.

“We’ve had days where we’ve made 80 gallons, and other days where we’ve made 150,” Sutton said. “It’s all about the weather and how the trees are running.”

The process requires hard work and dedication to turn sap into syrup. For Slanina’s volunteer-driven operation, it’s a community effort that brings neighbors together. For Sutton, it’s a family tradition that now includes his children, the fifth generation to join the business.

“It’s great to see that they’re interested in it,” Sutton said of his kids. “They’ll decide if they want to continue at this level or scale back, but either way, I hope they stay involved in maple.”

Despite the hurdles, both Slanina and Sutton agree on one thing: there’s nothing quite like the taste of real maple syrup.

“Your average person probably has no idea what real maple syrup is,” Slanina said. “They go buy the store stuff, and it’s just corn syrup. I always tell people to find a local producer and give the real thing a try.”

As this year’s season winds down, both tappers are already looking ahead to next year, hoping for more favorable conditions, and maybe a sweeter harvest.

“It’s a ton of hard work,” Slanina said. “But when you get that final product, it’s all worth it.”

For now, they’ll keep tapping, boiling, and bottling, proving that even in the face of unpredictable weather, the maple syrup tradition runs deep.