MILTON -- Maple syrup production has come a long way from metal buckets hung on trees, but even high-tech operations have had to rely on old-fashioned foot patrols to fix a common problem -- leaks.

Aaron Wightman was almost born in a sugarhouse. It was early April, and his parents were boiling maple sap in the Western New York shack where they produced syrup and other maple-flavored goods. “It ...

As steam rises from sugarhouse cupolas and early morning coffeepots, sugar makers are working overtime to turn maple sap into golden syrup. But as it turns out, they aren’t alone: Other living things ...