MADRID - State Senator Patty Ritchie attended a ceremonial tree-tapping, invited farmers to showcase their wares and tout the future of their industry, and announced a schedule of public events to mark the start of maple “sugaring season” in New York State.

Senator Ritchie, who chairs the Senate’s Agriculture Committee, joined in a tree-tapping ceremony at the Kenny family’s Sweet Creations maple farm in Madrid on Saturday.

On Tuesday, she was joined at a meeting of the Senate Agriculture Committee by representatives of the New York Maple Producers Association and update them on her efforts to gain increased state funding for promotion of maple products, as well as research to help grow the industry.

“Maple growers are increasingly important to our state’s agricultural industry—responsible for tens of millions of dollars in sales and revenue every year,” said Senator Ritchie. “I’ve been working to call attention to this important sector of our agriculture industry, and highlighting the potential for growth in a state where just 2 percent of our available maple trees are currently being used to produce syrup.

“I’m looking forward to hearing from producers their ideas on ways to grow the industry and help strengthen the bottom lines for hardworking New York farm families.”

According to recent numbers, New York follows only Vermont for maple production, responsible for 20 percent of all U.S. production. In addition, the value of maple syrup and other maple products in New York state was $22 million in 2011.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer