Alberta beekeepers could lose twice as many hives this year as they usually do, following a bad winter and impacts of COVID-19.
Connie Phillips, executive director of the Alberta Beekeepers 聽Commission which tracks and represents beekeepers, said beekeepers are 聽losing an average of 30 per cent of their hives, with some beekeepers 聽tracking losses up to 90 per cent. That鈥檚 up from the 15 to 20 per cent 聽they might lose over a typical winter.
Phillips said normally, beekeepers can recover from winter deaths. 聽But once losses push 30 per cent, it gets harder to build numbers back 聽up.
鈥淭he numbers of hives are all tied to the amount of honey you're producing, which is how they make money,鈥� Phillips said.
Last year, wet fall weather washed away pollen from important crops 聽like canola, Phillips said. Wet weather also typically keeps bees 聽hunkered down in their hives, so they produce less honey. That meant a 聽more challenging winter for Alberta beekeepers.
"There were a lot of factors inhibiting honey production. A lot of 聽beekeepers really struggled on an average as a province,鈥� Phillips said.
Alberta beekeepers rely on temporary foreign workers to help take 聽care of bees in the spring, especially when the critters wake up early 聽before flowers start blooming.
Jeremy Olthof, owner of Tees Bees Inc. and president of the Alberta 聽Beekeeping Commission, said getting skilled seasonal workers into the 聽province was very challenging this year as COVID-19 restrictions shut 聽down border travel.
鈥淲e just couldn鈥檛 get enough feed out fast enough,鈥� Olthof said.
Olthof tried to bring in eight workers from Mexico but ended up only 聽小蓝视频 able to bring in six due to the pandemic restrictions. The 聽beekeeper said he was lucky this year and was able to find some local 聽help by bringing in a few teenagers to help out as well.
Those six workers were also more expensive to bring in than normal, 聽since they had to quarantine once they arrived in Canada. However, 聽Olthof said he qualifies for a quarantine subsidy to offset that cost.
Skilled worker shortage
Some 30 per cent of the people hired to work in beekeeping are 聽skilled seasonal workers from out of the country, which totals around 聽400 staff members in Alberta, according to Phillips.
Those workers help split strong hives into two separate colonies 鈥� 聽one of the ways beekeepers deal with winter hive loss. Without those 聽workers, the process of splitting up hives becomes more challenging.
Last year, Olthof had around 4,800 hives. After losing 20 to 25 per 聽cent of them over winter, he was able to build his numbers up to 4,500 聽this year by splitting his hives, but he still wasn鈥檛 able to recover 聽fully.
Beekeepers who can鈥檛 recover all their losses by splitting hives have 聽to import bees from out of the country to build their numbers back up. 聽Canadian beekeepers import from Australia, New Zealand and Chile, but 聽the COVID-19 pandemic meant all live animal transfers were put on ice.
Bill Termeer, the Alberta Beekeeping Commission member representing 聽the Peace Region, owns and directs Moondance Honey north of Sexsmith. He 聽said he lost half his bees this winter 鈥� just 2,500 of his 5,000 hives 聽survived.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge amount. That鈥檚 not a normal number,鈥� Termeer said.
In Peace Country, Termeer said losses typically hit 30 per cent 鈥� 聽which, while difficult to recover from, can usually be made up by 聽splitting hives. But not only did he lose half his hives this spring, he 聽also had to shut down 10 per cent of them last fall because they 聽weren鈥檛 viable.
That was too big a loss to bounce back from by splitting hives, forcing Termeer to purchase bees instead.
Olthof said queen bees are usually flown into Edmonton, where 聽beekeepers can pick them up or get them shipped to an airport closer to 聽them. That wasn鈥檛 possible this year because of pandemic restrictions.
Beekeepers told the Gazette Derek Johnston, manager of 聽member relations with Bee Maid, helped out beekeepers by making frequent 聽trips to the Vancouver area to pick up queen bees imported from Hawaii 聽and deliver them across B.C. and Alberta to keep the industry alive. The 聽Gazette couldn鈥檛 reach Johnson for an interview.
鈥淚 would go as far to say he saved the industry this year,鈥� Olthof said.
Termeer said trying to figure out how to get hive numbers back up and 聽replace bees has been very difficult this year, on top of the potential 聽losses of income that will come with a reduced amount of honey.
Honey pot drain
Phillips said right now they can only predict the number of hive and 聽bee losses from this season and won鈥檛 know final numbers until the end 聽of the summer.
Overall, beekeepers are saying it has been very stressful to deal 聽with COVID-19 and try to keep their businesses going. Phillips said one 聽far northern beekeeper in the province lost 90 per cent of his bees, 聽resulting in a $2-million loss in revenue for honey sales.
Alberta is the largest producer of honey in Canada, and local 聽beekeepers produce 41 million pounds of the stuff annually and 聽contribute $67 million to the economy. There are about 170 beekeepers 聽registered with the Alberta Beekeeping Commission.
In 2019, the province had 300,000 hives registered.
This year, the industry expects to lose between 50,000 to 100,000 of 聽those hives, with the lowest loss possible to the industry sitting at 聽$30 million.
Earlier this month, the provincial government announced support for 聽provincial beekeepers, handing over $1 million to support the 聽replacement of 13,000 hives.
Alberta beekeepers worked closely with the provincial government to help find a way to support the industry.
Although the money handed out by the province didn鈥檛 total the 聽industry鈥檚 losses, Phillips said beekeepers were still thankful they 聽were getting support. The provincial government also advocated very hard 聽to try to get the borders open to ship in replacement bees, but weren鈥檛 聽successful.
鈥淚 think they did what they felt like they could,鈥� Phillips said.
