Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

State agriculture officials are still assessing the damage from last month’s once-in-a-lifetime ice storm in Northern Michigan, with the DNR estimating one million acres of trees were affected.

That includes scores of maple trees that help make Michigan the fifth leading producer in the U.S.

“We probably are going to lose a third of our crop from that area, so we’re figuring somewhere between a $3 and $3.5 million loss in Michigan alone,” said David Nooney, president of the Michigan Maple Syrup Association.

Nooney says consumers likely won’t see an immediate difference, but shortages and higher prices of Michigan-produced maple products are possible in years to come.

“Pints are (currently) like $10-12. Quarts are anywhere from $20-25. They do sell a lot of maple sugar products, such as maple cream. Cotton candy is made from maple syrup. So, there are quite a few products,” Nooney says.

A vast majority of Michigan-produced maple syrup is sold in Michigan. Farmers markets, he says, may not have a full variety of products near the end of the season and moving into next year.

“They (trees) may be good for another year or so, but nobody knows because the long-range life of that maple tree, a lot of them, the tops were broken off, the crown. As soon as you lose the crown, you lose the whole tree,” Nooney added.

A GoFundMe to help maple producers and the Michigan Maple Syrup Association’s website are linked below.

Photo courtesy of Harwood Gold.