A day devoted to maple syrup attracts local farmers

BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) – On Saturday, the West Virginia Maple Syrup Producers' Association hosted the Mountain State Maple Days, an event aimed at raising public awareness of the growth of maple syrup industry in the state. The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service announced that the 61,000 taps in West Virginia had produced 9,000 gallons of syrup worth $ 330,000 in 2018.

A Maple Days game, Cool Hollow Maple Farm, participated in a maple syrup demonstration at Tamarack. Sugar maker Sam Harper said it was a nice way to showcase local syrup farms.

"West Virginia has a lot of potential for syrup," Harper said. "In our farm we grow about five thousand trees and produce between twelve hundred and eighteen cents of syrup a year."

Another day of the Maple Days will be Saturday, March 16th.