U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is pushing for the Maple Tap Act legislation, which would boost syrup production and help the industry grow. The Maple Tap Act would provide USDA grants of up to $20 million per year to states that create programs to encourage individual landowners to open up their trees to maple tapping.

Schumer’s legislation would also provide grants to states to support market promotion, maple industry research and development, and education through leading institutions.

New York currently taps less than one percent of the state’s nearly 300 million maple trees, forcing the U.S. to import four times as much maple syrup as it produces. The state has failed to take full advantage of its maple resources in part because nearly 75 percent of the tappable maple trees are on privately owned land, potentially leaving over $80 million dollars’ worth of maple sap inside the trees.

Despite having 200 million fewer maple trees than New York, the Canadian province of Quebec taps roughly a third of its maple trees and is able to put out over 40 million more maple trees every year, cementing its standing as the world’s leader in syrup production.

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