'Hard sledding': N.S. maple syrup producers slowed by COVID-19 outbreak
On a typical spring day at Sugar Moon Farm in Earltown, N.S., dozens of people would be crowded around long picnic-style tables drizzling fresh maple syrup on warm pancakes.
But this hasn't been a typical spring.
Maple syrup is still being made, but farms have been forced to shut down to visitors and switch gears due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at what would normally be their busiest time of year.
It's also the only time of year — a short three-to-six-week window between February and April — that the clear sap is extracted from sugar maples and transformed into syrup.
19 employees laid off
Sugar Maple Farm laid off 19 employees last week that were brought on to handle the usual influx of visitors eager to watch the production process or taste hot syrup rolled onto crushed iced.
"A lot of these folks, they had been working here for years. A lot of them really depend on this revenue, so that was pretty heartbreaking," said co-owner Quita Gray.
Gray said the farm typically welcomes 30,000 people a year. About a third of those visitors come during the spring, translating into tens of thousands of dollars of revenue.
She said they had just purchased enough ingredients — including flour, buttermilk and eggs — to feed thousands of people pancakes during March Break and beyond.
A big portion of Sugar Moon Farm's revenue comes from visitors purchasing their products.
They have switched to selling online and no-contact pickup from the farm, but that hardly makes up for the loss, said Gray.
Like many other businesses, they're waiting to see what sort of help they will qualify for under provincial and federal government programs.
But Gray says she thinks they'll be able to weather the storm.
"We're hanging in there. We have food, we have beautiful surroundings, we have water and heat and a family. So we're pretty grateful, actually," said Gray.
"It could be so much worse. When I think about what other folks are going through, this is just fine. We'll get through this. We're resilient."
At Maple Mist Farm in Kemptown, N.S., Peter Grant is still making maple syrup with the operation's one and only employee.
Markets drying up
But he's not sure when he'll be able to sell it. Grant typically relies on wholesale customers that include the province's shuttered restaurants.
"It is what it is. It's no different than any other small business. Your sales are down and you try to get what you can," said Grant.
But like Gray, he's optimistic his business will be able to bounce back.
"It might be hard sledding for a little while, but I think we can squeeze by," said Grant.
MORE TOP STORIES
