Maple syrup production is the second fastest growing agricultural commodity in the United States, second only to hemp. With so much of the state covered in steep, wooded hillsides, this is one commodity that almost every county can make. Kentucky woodland owners have expressed a strong interest in learning more about the industry. 

To help provide research-based information, the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, through it's offices in Floyd, Harlan, & Letcher Counties, has worked with the departments of forestry, entomology, and agricultural economics, along with the Kentucky Maple Syrup Association to host this year's fourth annual maple syrup school. This past November, attendees learned about invasive woodland pests, a research grant to determine the feasibility of the industry for Kentucky, tree diseases impacting maples, research into 'super sweet' sugar maples conducted by Cornell University, the results of this past year's first ever State Fair entrees for maple syrup, and multiple related topics. 

Attendees have voiced an intention to increase production for 2020, with 25 planning to take part in Kentucky's first-ever Maple Syrup Day on February 1. They will open their sugar houses up to the general public to show how the syrup is made and to sell syrup and other maple-based products. Others are planting 'super sweet' sugar maples as a result of the maple school, in an effort to increase production and improve their efficiencies.