MORLEY, Mich. — Michigan’s maple syrup season was over this year almost before it started.

Late winter and early spring normally means cold nights and daytime temperatures gradually inching above freezing, causing maple sap to rise and fall within the tree’s tissues – but that was not the case this year.

Instead, much of the state of Michigan has been experiencing record-setting temperatures in the mid- to high 80s during the last few weeks. Experts report these warm temperatures put a quick end to maple sap collection and the subsequent sugar shack production.

Dick and Pat Hyde collect sap from maple trees on their Morley-area farm. They tapped their trees on Feb. 15 – about three weeks earlier than normal – and pulled their taps the second week of March.

“We usually tap the last week of February and collect sap through the end of March,” Dick said.

Ideally, he said nighttime temperatures around 20-25 degrees and 40-degree daytime temperatures are the best conditions for sap to run.

“With the hot weather we’ve been having, the trees advanced quickly,” he said. “Once the trees start to bud, it makes for bitter syrup.”

Pat said they have had similar scenarios in the past, but nothing quite as odd as this year’s weather. “A couple of years ago, the season was short, but not like this,” she said.

The Hydes estimate their production is about one-third less this year than in a normal year.

Michigan broke maple syrup production records last year, reporting 123,000 gallons, as well as in 2008 and 2009, with 105,000 and 115,000 gallons, respectively, according to the Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service. Michigan is ranked No. 5 in the nation for maple syrup production.

Average maple syrup production in the state is about 90,000 gallons per year. It takes about 40 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of syrup.

Joe Woods, who taps a 25-acre maple grove on his farm near Rapid City, said “this is prime time and we’re finished” with sap collection. During a typical year, production in his area would continue through the first week of April.

Woods said he normally taps his trees in February and collection peaks in March as the temperature fluctuates from cold nights to warmer days. While the quantity of sap is down by about half, he said the maple syrup quality is good this year.

“The flavor stayed good, but it got dark quickly,” he said.

Tom Reese of Stanton leads maple sap collection on behalf of the Stanton Lions Club. Each year, the group taps maple trees throughout the town and sells the sap to Shepherd Sugar Bush in Shepherd as a fundraiser. Proceeds benefit the Lions Club’s activities.

He said his group had “a pretty good year. The test was a little low – the sugar content was down a little – but we collected a little less than 4,300 gallons of sap,” Reese added. “We’ve been as high as 8,000 gallons, and we’ve had years that we’ve collected less than 4,000 gallons.”

He said the group tapped the maple trees in February because they anticipated an early spring. “As warm of weather as we were having, we weren’t sure the sap would even run,” Reese explained.

While this year’s collection only lasted about three weeks, Reese is pretty pleased with the outcome.

“We had a record night this year where we collected 1,270 gallons in one night,” he said. “We’ve had better years, and we’ve had worse years.”