When it comes to maple syrup production, New York state ranks second, trailing only neighboring Vermont. But as Matt Hunter reports, with the industry's biggest weekend fast approaching, producers are facing challenges brought on by a harsh winter.

MALTA, N.Y. -- It's been eight years since Karl Ruger began a hobby in his Malta backyard that's since grown into a business.

"It is fun to do and it is addicting," Ruger said this week, walking through his yard. “I call this the village, at the end of every year I build a shed somewhere."

At his Sugar Oak Farm, Ruger and his wife spend 11 months of the year gearing up and waiting for spring.

"It is a one-shot deal,” Ruger said. “You have got six weeks in the spring to do it."

That's when sap flows from trees and they boil it down to sweet maple syrup.

"When it's really going nuts, you can fill up a pail in a day," said Ruger, who has two sugar maple trees at his home and will place taps in more than 80 others at properties throughout the region.

Ruger has contributed to an industry that's blossomed throughout New York in recent decades. Under normal conditions, this year's production process would have already started, but with temperatures remaining well below average, the sap is literally frozen stuck.

"This year it has been very cold, all of the trees are still frozen,” Ruger said. “Last year at this time, even know it was a very cold here last year, we had some taps in and we had a small run at the beginning of February."

The timing couldn't be worse for Ruger and the state's other producers, with the all important maple weekend less than three weeks away.

"Some of the larger producers might not be concerned but I am concerned,” Ruger said. “We sell about 90 percent of our product at Maple Weekend."

The good news: sap will eventually flow once temperatures climb, no matter how late in the season. Ruger and many others are hopeful that will happen before Maple Weekend, so they're not forced to rely on what's left of last year's crop.

"We are just waiting for the trees to thaw out and Mother Nature to help us out," Ruger said.

Maple Weekend is scheduled for March 21 to March 22 and March 28 March 29. For more information, visit the New York Maple Association's official website.