In Mr. Hodge’s view, the system’s restrictions are stunting the growth of Quebec’s industry. It is less bureaucratic and less expensive, he explains, for buyers to go to Vermont or New Brunswick. He said that he had no problem with paying the federation its 12 cents a pound tax for various services, like promoting maple syrup in new markets, particularly in Asia. But he will not adhere to the quotas.

“Well, I don’t accept the system because I don’t believe in not being able to sell our product,” he said. “We just think that that product is ours. We bought the land. We’ve done all the work. Why should we not be able to sell our product the way we want as long as we legitimately put it on our income tax?”

That’s a question that exasperates Mr. Trépanier of the federation. While Mr. Trépanier studiously avoids calling the organization a cartel, he has described it as the OPEC of maple syrup in the past, referring to the group of oil-producing countries. The system, he said, is doomed to collapse without production discipline.

“What you have to understand is the other producers say to us: ‘I am respecting the rules. Why shouldn’t my neighbor?’ ” he said. “The majority of the producers, they are happy about the way we are trying to stop the ones who are not respecting the rules.”

Mr. Trépanier said that the federation’s enforcement efforts were no different from police going after motorists who flout traffic laws. As he sees it, dissidents are refusing to settle so they can incur larger fines. The hope of producers, he says, is that judges will ultimately declare the penalties excessively harsh and dismiss their cases.

At any point, the 7,400-member federation has about 400 investigations underway, Mr. Trépanier said.

No violation, it seems, is too little to escape its notice. Inspectors regularly patrol corner stores and small supermarkets. They want to see if producers who are allowed to sell only at their farms have modestly expanded their retail presence.