2026 UPDATE
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Maple Syrup Division
Northern Ontario experienced another high snowfall winter, with a late spring arrival. Temperatures stayed low throughout March, resulting in 5% production of overall crop, when typical production is usually 25% of a crop by the end of March. In mid-April, temperatures rose substantially, shortening the production season. Crop for 2026 was below average, albeit not the worst year on record.
Equipment preformed admirably throughout the season. Early sap runs had high mineral content, and these runs seemed to extent further in the season. Periodic washes of reverse osmosis (ROs) were needed to deal with low membrane performance. The newly installed glass media filtration system worked exceptionally well.
Early spring in the sugarbush.
Expansion was completed in Fall of 2025 and Black Bird now has 183,000 taps in a single, contiguous forest that slopes continuously all the way to our production facility. This unique topography eliminates the need for pump houses or truck transport, making Black Bird the largest maple syrup producer in Ontario and one of the world's largest producers of single-forest maple syrup. The current tap count fully utilizes the capacity of our existing processing equipment. Future expansion is expected to come primarily from adding trees as they reach the minimum size required for tapping under organic management standards. Black Bird plans to upgrade communication for our monitoring system using line of sight for data transmission in 2026.
It has been an eight-year process from inception to full capacity operation, and we are proud of this achievement.
Black Bird facility nestled in the Harmony River valley.
Happy maple tree
Carbon Sequestration
In 2023, Black Bird suspended forest harvesting on Astina’s woodlands in favour of implementing a forest carbon offset project (Project ID: ACR925, Batchawana Bay Forest). Black Bird partnered with Finite Carbon, a leading North American forest carbon project developer. It has been a two-and-a-half-year process, and our forest carbon offset project is now approved under the American Carbon Registry protocol for Improved Forest Management (IFM). In April 2026, the project received an MSCI BBB rating – the highest rating awarded to an IFM project in Canada to date.
Fall lake scene on Astina woodlands.
Finite Carbon is currently marketing 2023 vintages, with 2024 vintages soon becoming available. If you are interested in viewing the project, please follow the link below.
All the Best,
Black Bird Management Ltd.
