Climate change is coming for maple trees, prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to tap UVM as keeper of the nation’s new strategic maple syrup reserve (SMSR).
Major universities across the Northeast lobbied hard for the $50 million project, including Cornell, UMaine, and UNH. But UVM was selected because of our faculty expertise in all facets of syrup production, storage, and distribution. The Green Mountain state is the country’s largest producer of the sweet stuff and UVM’s proximity to the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing will ensure the reserve’s security.
The announcement comes after a recent study by UVM researchers from the Proctor Maple Research Center showed that warming seasons and unpredictable harvests threaten the nation’s maple syrup industry. In the last four decades, sugaring season in the United States has been reduced by 10 percent, leaving producers scrambling.
UVM officials are reviewing potential sites to warehouse the syrup, including the recently refurbished water tower visible across campus. With its more than 500,000-gallon capacity, the tank could hold roughly 10 percent of the nations’ yearly syrup output (YSO).
“UVM’s Proctor Maple Research Center has over 75 years of expertise in maple studies, and I am proud UVM researchers and facilities are trusted with this sensitive responsibility,” said UVM President Suresh Garimella. “Some people view the tank as simply utilitarian. I see its sweet potential.”
Until now, Canada—the world’s largest producer of maple syrup—has maintained the only SMSR on the planet. Worldwide demand boiled over during the pandemic, forcing the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, the group that manages Canada’s SMSR, to release nearly half of its holdings.
A decade ago, thieves stole $18.7 million dollars’ worth of liquid gold from the site and Canadian officials have ramped up security in response to an underwhelming 2023 harvest. Despite warm relations with its neighbor to the north, leadership in the U.S. holds that syrup independence is a strategic necessity.
“We are the second leading producer of maple syrup in the world. Establishing our own maple reserve is ultimately good for producers and good for breakfast tables,” the Department of Agriculture’s announcement reads. “Maple syrup is a critical economic engine in the Northeast. And pancakes just wouldn’t be the same without it.”
Establishing the American SMSR at the University of Vermont was applauded by butter and flour producers as a smart move for important sectors of our national economy.
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This story was compiled by pranksters in UVM’s Division of Strategic Communications in service of April Fool’s Day. Please do not climb the tower in search of maple syrup. (Or for any reason for that matter.)