The University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Extension (UK FNRE) team along with key partners such as the Kentucky Maple Syrup Association, and the Kentucky Center for Agricultural Development, and the Kentucky Natural Resources Conservation Service have worked to support maple syrup producers in Kentucky. These efforts helped form the Kentucky Maple Syrup Project (https://ky-maplesyrup.ca.uky.edu) which contains a growing library of maple syrup-related information, including videos, recorded programs, and a periodic E-Newsletter. UK FNRE has taken the lead or contributed significantly to the following educational programmatic efforts: training videos, workshops, online webinars, Kentucky Maple Schools, maple syrup producer tours, 4-H Maple Syrup Curriculum and Trainings, joint programming with Ohio State and the Ohio Maple Syrup Producers Association, and tristate maple syrup programming with Ohio and WV. In addition to those efforts, we organize and promote Kentucky Maple Days each winter. The 2024 Kentucky Maple Days attracted more than 1,000 visitors, including more than 600 paying customers, who experienced pure Kentucky maple syrup and learn more about how it is produced. The Kentucky Maple Syrup Project plays a critical role in connecting and supporting the growing maple syrup industry in Kentucky and promotes the management of Kentucky’s forests. Another important outcome of this project has been a stronger and more invigorated Kentucky Maple Syrup Association.

The Kentucky Maple Syrup Project has been supported by the following grant as well as contributions from the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, the Kentucky Maple Syrup Association, the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, and county extension agents in Kentucky: Enhancing the Awareness, Knowledge, and Understanding of Sustainable Maple Syrup Production Practices Among Current and Potential Maple Syrup Producers. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Grant # AM200100XXXXG007. $499,400.