Vermont maple industry briefs Senate Agriculture Committee on rapid growth, climate and market pressures

Allison Hope, executive director of the Vermont Maple Sugarmakers Association, told the Senate Agriculture Committee during a meeting that Vermont’s maple sector has expanded rapidly — production rose about 460% over the past 20 years — while confronting climate-change impacts, higher operating costs and growing market pressures.

The association framed its work around four priorities — marketing, advocacy, partnerships and education — and described consumer-facing events, a food-safety certification and grant program, and outreach to new export markets as central tools to support producers statewide. Hope said the association and partners rely on state and federal funding and on the Agency of Agriculture for inspections and market support.

Hope told senators the association manages a long-standing booth at the Eastern States Exposition (the “Big E”), where last year the booth generated roughly $230,000 in sales and produced net proceeds of about $56,000 after expenses. She said about half of those net proceeds are returned to the Agency of Agriculture as commission revenue and that the commission assessed the association is currently 12% of gross receipts and is slated to rise to 15% under the next contract. “The commissions are 12% of gross profits. Next year, those commissions will go up to 15%,” Hope said, and she asked for committee conversations about commission rates and other state support for…