By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
PORTVILLE — Sprague’s Maple Farms has produced its first maple syrup of the 2025 season.
With several warm days earlier this week, the taps started running through more than 100 miles of plastic tubing on eight sugar bushes.
Tanker trucks transport sap from as far as 10 miles away and bring it to the maple facility at Sprague’s Restaurant on Route 305 north of Portville. Tubing from taps on trees on the hill behind the restaurant delivers sap to a tank.
“We’re busy today,” smiled owner Randy Sprague on Wednesday. “This will be our first day of producing syrup.”
About 25,000 taps have been installed on maple trees over the past month. “We’ve had a cold winter. This is the first time it’s been warm enough for the sap to flow.”
Sprague’s will start their weekend maple tours to the sugar house on the hill on March 8. Guests ride a wagon to the sugar house and its wood-fired evaporator,to sample maple cake donuts and maple wine for adults. They also have maple kettle corn, samples of syrup and sugar on snow.
They will also participate in this year’s Maple Weekends March 22 and 23 and 29 and 30.
“It was a good summer growing season, with deep green foliage and no insect infestations,” said Sprague. “Everything looked really healthy. There was just enough moisture. With this solid winter we should have good production.”
Each sugar bush is hooked to a vacuum system that helps pull the sap from the trees into the tubing for the journey to the collection tank where its pumped into a tanker and hauled to the restaurant.
The season is starting later than the last four or five years when Sprague’s has been in full production in January, he said. Last year production started the third week in January, almost a month earlier than the 2025 season’s start.
“We can make up for it, but the weather has to be real cooperative,” Sprague said. That ideal weather is 20s at night and 40s during the day. An extended thaw can spell an end to the season too.
This year marks the 24th anniversary for Sporague’s Restaurant and Sprague has been making maple syrup for 55 or 60 years. You’ll find that locally made maple syrup on every table in the restaurant.
This year’s maple season couldn’t have come at a better time, Sprague said. “This is the tightest year I can remember. There’s no carryover. The syrup we’re making today will be on the tables by this weekend.”
The price will be similar to last year, he said. A gallon of maple syrup costs $61.95 or $21.95 a quart.
“We’ve got another cold weekend coming, then things should shake loose,” Sprague said.
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