FREDERICKTOWN, OH (WCMH) — North America is the only place in the world that produces maple syrup. Ohio ranks 5th out of the 12 states that produce maple syrup each year.

The Brown family has been producing maple syrup since the 1800s on this 5th-generation farm in Knox County called Bonhomie Acres.

“Our great-great grandfather first tapped trees on these farms and these trees, especially these larger trees, have been probably tapped off and on since he started,” says Dan Brown.

Like any part of farming, collecting sap for syrup is dependent on the weather.

“So, if the temperature is going up and the barometer is going down, that’s where you get your best flows,” Brown explains.

So with a week of record-setting temperatures, production has definitely slowed.

“Starting about the 7th of February to until the 17th was really pretty good weather for us. But this last week with the constant warm temperatures has been a bit of a struggle.” Brown says.

Brown says once the maple trees bud, their season is over. But until then, they have plenty of sap to turn into syrup.

“There’s really nothing magic about it,” says Kelly Brown, who also works on Bonhomie Acres. “All maple syrup requires is raw sap from a maple tree, and heat to concentrate the sugars.

So once the sap is collected from buckets and most travels through miles of tubing, it is pumped into the sugar house, run through filters, and evaporated.

Although the evaporator is loud, the smell is worth it.

“It’s a sweet smell and it’s one you never get tired of being around.”

You can find out more about Ohio’s local production at ohiomaple.org, and visit Bonhomie Acres’ site at bonhomieacresmaplesyrup.com.