EMMET COUNTY — The ice storm is still having an impact on northern Michiganders almost 2 weeks later. Maple tree farms are feeling the impact on their production.
A quarter million dollars’ worth of tubing system has been destroyed on this 28-acre maple tree farm. It will take months to assess and fix what is broken. And the question will still be in the air of whether or not they can tap the trees again next year.
Christi Petersen and her husband Todd started Maple Moon Sugarbush and Winery near Petoskey around 13 years ago.
“So the branches, the trees that fell, all of that is a top-of-the-line system and which makes it impossible,” Christi said. “There are holes. And that’s the other thing was a lot of us use a vacuum. If we have this line system in our woods, we use a vacuum pump and we suck the sap to the building and there’s holes everywhere. So it wouldn’t even work.”
They bought land not knowing they would use the trees to create their own business. Now they are America’s first-ever maple winery. With all the blood, sweat and tears put into the farm, Christi said it was heartbreaking.
“I stood in the woods and I bawled in it because it overwhelmed me. When we had put so much time and effort into this just to begin doing it, and then in 24 hours, it was completely destroyed. But I think I was crying because I didn’t know where to begin the cleanup.”
Walking around the forest, you will see fallen branches tearing down the tubing system, and looking up, you will see many crowns of the trees destroyed. The fear is that if there is no more crown, there is no more leaves, which means no more maple syrup.
Christi said this will have a devastating impact on the industry.
“It crushed it,” she said. “There are people who have been in this industry 50 years who said I’ve never seen anything like this. There are people who have lived here in this area for 80 years and said, I’ve never seen anything like this. So yes, we’re, we’re a microclimate of the whole maple industry, but our area was absolutely wiped out.”
As they start to pick up the branches that have fallen, community members have reached out and many are coming to volunteer.
“When people started reaching out and saying, ‘How can we help?’ We said, well, we have volunteers coming. So if you have chainsaw experience, we would love it. Because the more people write, the more we’ll get done.”
Christi said she is seeing the positives through the destruction and hopes more people continue to support farmers impacted by the storm.
If you are interested in volunteering to help with farm recovery, email Christi: mmsyrup.mi@gmail.com
Or to follow their progress, click here.
