Also, it turns out that this season (2008) was quite cold, and was rather good for producers throughout most of the U.S. In Canada the situation was different. It was very cold (too cold for sap to run), and then got too warm, without adequate refreezing at night to recharge the system. So production was lower in Quebec.

Finally, one commenter mentioned a lack of data regarding production. That is incorrect….there is plenty of data on maple production. Unfortunately, production alone doesn’t tell much of a story because it is affected by numerous variables (economics, population demographics, equipment costs, syrup in storage, etc.) rather than climate alone. There is good data showing that the maple production season is starting and ending earlier in the year than historically, and that the duration is decreasing throughout the U.S. syrup producing areas.

In response to what is normal, normal doesn’t exist except within a broad range of values over time and based on where you set your benchmark. So, do you define normal based on the past 30 years or over a more reasonable time scale that reflects a longer data set, like 500,000,000 years? Scientist will want you to consider only the last 30 or so years (less than an eye blink in geological time) or if pushed, the last 1,000 years so we can trot out the hockey stick. All other definitions of normal would disallow the catastrophe.

And yet, the food riots we are seeing around the world today (Haiti, Yemen, Egypt, Mexico) are the result of the pursuit of–BIOFUELS!

Who will save us from the saviours?

I personally don’t remember weather like this since the last time.