Gilbertson’s Pancake House in Richards Landing will remain closed this season for the third consecutive year.
“We got really burned the first (pandemic) year in 2020,” said restaurant co-owner Calvin Gilbertson.
“We had everything ready to go. We were open for eight days and then locked down. Closed up. We were burned with all our product and we weren’t eligible for very much of the rebate so we had to take a big hit. So this year we just entered a lockdown again after Christmas and we had to make the decision in January if we were going to open or not. The way things looked then, it was like ‘we can’t take the risk.’ If they had eased up on the restrictions we probably would’ve opened but they locked down right after Christmas and we said we’re not going to take the chance again.”
“If we could’ve found the part time employees to open we would have, but you can’t find workers right now, and the prep (for the pancake house) is all done in January and February for March and April.”
As far as tapping maple trees for syrup, boiling and selling it for consumption goes, August 2021 winds took a toll on Sault and Algoma woodlands, leaving the area’s maple syrup producers hopeful for a better season in 2022.
“We’ve been very fortunate that it’s not been an early spring because there was so much damage from the wind last August. We had a lot of work to do (clearing the damage done by the winds). We are ready and it’s been a blessing to have the extended days here and it looks like the next 10 days in the forecast will be excellent weather,” said Gilbertson, Gilbertson's Maple Products co-owner.
Gilbertson said he has about 40,000 maple syrup taps on 600 acres.
After a “low average” year in 2021, Gilbertson said he’s hoping for an average or better than average year in 2022.
“Nobody knows (for certain). It’s farming. It can have really good weather and not run, or you can have good weather and it can run really good. We don’t know,” he said of the maple syrup industry.
Most of Gilbertson’s maple syrup yield is sold at Gilbertson's Maple Products in Richards Landing and retail stores in Sault Ste. Marie.
The rest goes out in bulk to other packers.
“In a good year we make 14,000 gallons of syrup,” Gilbertson said.
Maple syrup producers install taps on maple trees in late winter due to higher sugar content in the trees during that time of year.
Ideal weather conditions for maple syrup gathering include cold nights and warm days.
An early spring forces producers to gather their maple syrup quicker than they would like.
After boiling the syrup, it is bottled and sent out for sale.
“Our tapping’s complete. We started early with the manpower we have. We have 126,000 taps this year (on approximately 2,000 acres). We’re all tapped up and we’re just waiting for the weather. It looks like tomorrow it’s going to start. It looks like a favourable harvest for us this year,” said Clyde Bridge, Black Bird Management maple syrup producers general manager in Goulais River.
Bridge, however, said it all depends on the weather.
“Last year we were right on the average for Ontario, but averages across the board were down, in Quebec and North America. The maple syrup reserves are down to about two million pounds right now. This year, compared to last year, the snow load is astounding. It’s at least three feet, closer to four feet. This time last year we were at ankle height. Last year it was cold,cold, cold then it was plus 15, plus 10 and warm at night so that cut our season down to three weeks.”
“We’re going to continue to expand our operations for the next year or two,” Bridge said.
“We’re all ready to go. It looks like the weather will cooperate based on the longer term forecast. So maybe by tomorrow and all next week, for the next two weeks, it looks like perfect maple syrup weather in northern Ontario. We will be able to sell everything we make,” said Brian Bainborough, Maple Ridge Farm owner in Gore Bay, with 4,000 taps ready to give off syrup.
“Probably later on this week we’ll be having our first boil. The trees are still frozen,” said Angelika (Angie) Malar, Malars’ Maple Sweets co-owner in Hilton Beach.
“Daytime temperatures should be above zero and we’re almost at that stage, and we’ve got everything tapped,” said Malar, with approximately 500 taps out of a possible 2,000 ready to go.
For those who love pancake-themed events, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 374 St. Joseph Island will be holding its 53rd annual Maple Syrup Festival from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. the weekend of April 2 and 3 and the weekend of April 9 and 10 according to the branch’s Facebook page.