Rising temperatures in Ohio are causing syrup experts in the state to worry about how much syrup will be produced this year.

The higher the temperatures in the area, the faster the sap flows from maple trees. As the temperatures fall, the trees hold more of their sap.

“As soon as the nights stay above freezing, then the trees start utilizing the sugars to open up the buds and let the leaves come out,” Ashlee Schmitt, a naturalist for Greene County Parks and Trails, told News Center 7 on Monday.

As a result, experts say this could cause a drop in the statewide production from the two-year average of 100,000 or more gallons.

The lower production is not expected to bring higher costs for syrup in the state, which is among the nation’s top producers of maple syrup.

Ohio is among one of the top producers of maple syrup in the country and the fear of the low production rates has some experts worried.

Schmitt said, “The reserve’s syrup flow is on target.”

The Willoughby News-Herald reports that experts in the field are concerned that this year’s total could mirror the 65,000 gallons produced in 2010. Production statewide rose to 125,000 gallons in 2011 and reached 100,000 gallons last year.

An agent with Ohio State University’s Geauga County Extension Service says more production might not occur until well into March. But he doesn’t expect lower production to result in higher costs for syrup in the state. He told the News-Herald that about half of what is sold in Ohio is imported from New England and other areas.