Farm Type Guide

Woodlots, Forestry, and Maple in New York

Many New York farms include woodland that can produce maple syrup, timber, firewood, Christmas trees, and wildlife habitat. How to get a forester’s advice, lower your taxes, start sugaring, and find the help available to veterans.

The Industry at a Glance

Maple has grown fast, but the number of farms making it has started to drop. The Census of Agriculture counted 1.34 million taps on 1,313 New York farms in 2007 and 2.9 million taps by 2022. Farms reporting maple rose to 1,675 in 2017, then fell to 1,479 in 2022.
New York ranks second in the nation in maple syrup. Producers made 750,000 gallons in 2023, 846,000 gallons in 2024, and 829,000 gallons in 2025, according to USDA NASS.
New York has about 18 million acres of forest, and roughly three-quarters of it is privately owned, split among more than 700,000 landowners.
Christmas tree farming has held steady. New York had 1,154 Christmas tree farms in 2007 and 1,226 in 2022, with 22,583 acres in production.
The state has more than 2,000 maple sugarmakers, and New York holds the largest supply of tappable maple trees in the United States.

New York has more tappable maple trees than any other state, and most of its woods are in private hands. If you’re a veteran interested in maple, timber, or Christmas trees, talk to us about joining the effort to grow forest farming in New York.

Forester Help and the 480-a Tax Law

Start with a free walk-through. Through DEC's Forest Stewardship Program, private forest owners can get a free visit with a DEC forester, who will walk your woods with you and outline your options.
For timber sales, stand improvement, tax law plans, and appraisals, DEC refers owners to private Cooperating Foresters. Find one in our Cooperating Forester directory or on DEC's list.
The 480-a Forest Tax Law can lower property taxes on a tract of at least 50 contiguous acres of forest. The exemption is up to 80% of the assessed value of the enrolled acres, but DEC warns it doesn't save money for every owner, so run the numbers for your property first.
In return, you commit the land to forest production for the next 10 years, renewed each year, and follow a management plan written by a qualified forester. You notify DEC at least 30 days before a harvest and pay a 6% tax on the stumpage value. Breaking the commitment brings a penalty of 2.5 times the taxes saved, plus interest.
New rules took effect March 1, 2026. Management plans now run 20 years instead of 15, work no longer follows a fixed yearly schedule, and enrolled land must be regenerated rather than high-graded.
To apply, send the application, the forester's plan, and a map to the DEC Regional Forester for your county. DEC answers within 60 days, and you then file with your town assessor by the taxable status date, usually March 1.

Maple Production Basics

Cornell recommends at least 50 taps per acre, and 81 to 120 taps per acre is the most efficient. Woods with 20 or fewer taps per acre are hard to run commercially.
Tap trees at least 10 inches in diameter, measured 4.5 feet off the ground. Trees up to 18 inches get one tap, and larger trees can take two.
It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, though that can range from 20 to 60. A forest-grown tree usually gives about a quart of syrup in a season.
Start small with buckets and a pan, then grow. Cornell's beginner notebook, using 2009 prices, listed small evaporators at $1,100 to $3,400. Prices are higher now, and tubing, a sugarhouse, and sap storage add more, so expect it to take time before syrup sales pay back the equipment.
If you only make and sell your own pure syrup, you generally don't need a 20-C food processing license. You do need one if you buy syrup from others to repackage, but buying sap from another farmer and boiling it yourself is allowed. Check with Agriculture and Markets before making flavored or value-added products.
No sugarbush of your own? You can buy sap or lease taps from a neighbor, and a 2024 state law allows state land to be leased for sap production.

Organizations

The New York Forest Owners Association has helped private woodland owners since 1963, with local chapters, woods walks, and a member magazine. It's a good place to see how other owners manage their land.
The Catskill Forest Association in Arkville serves Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties. It offers $65 one-hour property visits, invasive species help, a portable sawmill program, and a weekly radio show.
The Cornell Maple Program runs research sugarbushes at the Arnot and Uihlein Forests and publishes guides, calculators, and the Sweet Talk Maple podcast, plus help on marketing, leasing, and sap buying.
The New York State Maple Producers Association represents the state's sugarmakers, runs Maple Weekend each March, when about 160 farms open to the public, and keeps a map of maple farms.
The Christmas Tree Farmers Association of New York holds a summer meeting for growers and runs a farm locator and a wholesaler directory.
International Maple Syrup Institute represents maple producers, associations, and equipment makers across the United States and Canada. It helped set the standard maple syrup grading system, supports the International Maple Grading School, and shares production data and research through its newsletter.
National Christmas Tree Association is the national association for real Christmas tree growers and retailers. Members get industry publications, a member directory, and an industry calendar, and the group runs a wholesale tree locator that connects growers with buyers.
American Forest Foundation is a national conservation organization that works with family forest owners. It runs the Family Forest Carbon Program, which pays landowners for forest management practices, and publishes Woodland magazine and other landowner resources.

Training and Help

Cornell's Maple for Beginners page and free beginner notebook cover tapping, sap handling, and equipment. Cornell Small Farms also offers an online course, Intro to Maple Syrup Production: Sugaring for Profit.
DEC's Regenerate NY cost-share grants pay $10,000 to $1 million for tree planting, thinning, invasive control, and deer protection on 5 or more acres, with a private forester guiding the work. The 2026 round closed August 27, so watch for the next one.
Your county Cornell Cooperative Extension office can connect you with forestry and maple programs near you.
SUNY Reconnect may cover tuition for an agriculture degree, and Farm Ops offers veteran farm business training.

Benefits for Veterans

NAP covers maple sap, since crop insurance doesn't. Veterans pay no service fee and get 50% off buy-up premiums.
The Tree Assistance Program helps replace or repair maple trees that produce an annual commercial crop when they're lost to a natural disaster.
EQIP can help maple producers with energy efficiency, sap filtering, and faster evaporation, as well as forest improvement work. Veterans get priority and higher cost-share.
CSP covers nonindustrial private forest land that's actively producing a forest product, with priority for veterans.
FSA microloans up to $50,000 can help with an evaporator or tubing, and you can label your syrup with Homegrown By Heroes.

How to Get Started

Walk your woods with a DEC forester or a Cooperating Forester before you cut or tap anything.
Learn first. Take a Cornell maple course, visit farms during Maple Weekend, or go on a NYFOA woods walk.
Tap a small number of trees with buckets your first season to see what your woods produce.
Get a USDA farm number, file form CCC-860 (veteran certification), and set up NAP for your sap before the season starts.
If you have 50 or more acres of forest, ask your forester whether 480-a makes sense for you.

Key Links

Sources: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation; NYS Department of Taxation and Finance; NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets; Cornell Maple Program; New York State Maple Producers Association; USDA FSA, NRCS, and NASS Census of Agriculture.