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Minnesota · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Todd County, Minnesota

Todd County had 5 maple operations in the 2022 Census (tap totals withheld). Around Long Prairie, sap usually runs from March 7 to April 6. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 152 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 7
typical year
Season ends
Apr 6
about 4 weeks
Sap days / season
32.4
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
withheld
5 farms

Sap-flow outlook at Long Prairie right now

Full Minnesota forecast →

Forecast for Long Prairie, MN

Updated Oct 6, 6:44 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Todd County's season usually opens around March 7, which is 152 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    48° / 68°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    41° / 63°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    42° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    53° / 75°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    56° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    46° / 52°
    No refreeze forecast

Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.

When the sap runs

The sugaring calendar at Long Prairie

Freeze-thaw weather at Long Prairie peaks in the weeks of Mar 9 to Apr 20, which hold about 57% of a season's sap days. April is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 7 – Apr 60246Week of Dec 1: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 0.5 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 3.3 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 7
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Long Prairie, 1991–2026. A sap day is an overnight low under 30.2 °F followed by an afternoon high over 37.4 °F. The shaded band is the typical season.

Year-to-year spread

Opening signal
Median Mar 17; the middle half of seasons fell between Mar 10 and Mar 24. Earliest Feb 17 (2012), latest Apr 8 (2013).
Closing signal
Median Apr 15; middle half between Apr 9 and Apr 23. Earliest Mar 14 (2012), latest May 12 (2013).
Sap days by month
Dec11%Jan6%Feb13%Mar32%Apr34%May4%

36 seasons of sap weather

Todd County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Long Prairie was 2021 with 55 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2001 with 11. Seasons that start early tend to end early too: the trees run on the swing between freezing nights and mild days, and heat ends it.
JanFebMarAprMaysap days20262026: Mar 12 – Apr 11, 45 sap days4520252025: Mar 15 – Apr 19, 42 sap days4220242024: Mar 10 – Apr 7, 51 sap days5120232023: Mar 31 – May 3, 24 sap days2420222022: Apr 2 – Apr 29, 28 sap days2820212021: Mar 6 – Apr 2, 55 sap days5520202020: Mar 24 – Apr 23, 35 sap days3520192019: Mar 23 – Apr 23, 37 sap days3720182018: Mar 31 – Apr 26, 34 sap days3420172017: Mar 4 – Apr 8, 30 sap days3020162016: Mar 12 – Apr 14, 33 sap days3320152015: Mar 10 – Apr 14, 30 sap days3020142014: Mar 29 – Apr 23, 20 sap days2020132013: Apr 8 – May 12, 23 sap days2320122012: Feb 17 – Mar 14, 33 sap days3320112011: Mar 25 – Apr 22, 27 sap days2720102010: Mar 2 – Mar 29, 25 sap days2520092009: Mar 19 – Apr 15, 25 sap days2520082008: Mar 30 – May 1, 33 sap days3320072007: Mar 15 – Apr 15, 31 sap days3120062006: Mar 10 – Apr 9, 21 sap days2120052005: Mar 5 – Apr 3, 35 sap days3520042004: Mar 12 – Apr 15, 39 sap days3920032003: Mar 22 – Apr 10, 25 sap days2520022002: Mar 14 – Apr 10, 43 sap days4320012001: Apr 1 – Apr 19, 11 sap days1120002000: Feb 24 – Mar 31, 44 sap days4419991999: Mar 10 – Apr 12, 39 sap days3919981998: Mar 17 – Apr 5, 21 sap days2119971997: Mar 23 – Apr 18, 25 sap days2519961996: Mar 31 – May 4, 33 sap days3319951995: Mar 19 – Apr 20, 32 sap days3219941994: Mar 17 – Apr 21, 33 sap days3319931993: Mar 21 – Apr 21, 31 sap days3119921992: Mar 24 – Apr 28, 34 sap days3419911991: Mar 3 – Apr 2, 40 sap days40
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Long Prairie. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Todd County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Todd County the 2022 Census found 5 farms making syrup (-50% since 2017).

Todd County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
20225withheldwithheld—
2017102,1833720.17

“Withheld” means USDA suppressed the figure to avoid disclosing data for individual operations; the farm count is still published.

Nearby

Neighboring maple counties

Distances are between reference towns; typical dates are each county's own estimate.

About these numbers

The season dates are estimated from 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures for the PRISM 4-km grid cell at Long Prairie (1,325ft), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast: a sap day is an overnight low under 30.2 °F followed by an afternoon high over 37.4 °F. Each season's closing signal is the last sap day before accumulated warmth reaches a threshold, and the opening signal sits five weeks before that, never earlier than the first real freeze-thaw week. Tested against 117 state-seasons of USDA-reported dates, the rule lands within 5.5 days of the reported close and 6.6 days of the reported opening on average, and the typical dates shown here are scaled to Minnesota's USDA record (3 years). Production figures are copied from the Census as published. Full method, calibration tables and the downloadable dataset →

Sources · 6

  1. 1.2022 Census of Agriculture, County Level Data — Minnesota, Table 37: Maple Syrup, 2022 and 2017 · USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
  2. 2.PRISM daily temperature grids (AN81d, 4 km), accessed 2026-10-05 · PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu
  3. 3.Applied Climate Information System (ACIS) web services · NOAA Regional Climate Centers
  4. 4.USDA NASS maple syrup reports — approximate average season opened and closed dates, 2011–2022 · USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (mirrored by the University of Vermont)
  5. 5.Sap flow in sugar maple: timing and weather drivers (Frontiers in Agronomy, 2025) · de Lima Santos et al.
  6. 6.GeoNames gazetteer (cities500), CC BY 4.0 · GeoNames

FAQ

Todd County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Todd County, Minnesota?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 7 near Long Prairie and the season winds down around April 6. Have your taps in a day or two before the first forecast string of freezing nights and 40 °F days. In the past 36 seasons the weather signal came as early as Feb 17 and as late as Apr 8.
How much maple syrup does Todd County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 5 maple operations in Todd County; USDA withheld the county's tap and gallon totals to avoid disclosing individual farms.
How many sap days does Todd County get in a season?
On average 32.4 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Long Prairie, of which about 9.5 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2021 (55 sap days); the leanest was 2001 (11).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Long Prairie (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for Minnesota. They describe a typical year at one point in the county; your sugarbush, slope and elevation can shift them by days.

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